Quote:As long as an ID is provided free of charge and acquiring one is easy, I have no problem with requiring proof of one's identity and place of residence. The problem is making them pay for it. That is, in effect,a poll tax. Poll taxes were declared to be unconstitutional in 1966.

 

Do I get to ask a question now?

 

I'll take the silence as a yes. I have more than one.

 

Why do "conservatives" insist on tightening up perceived loopholes in voter registration in the absence of evidence of voting fraud? What are they afraid of? Aren't they the first to holler when government dollars are spent unnecessarily?

 

Why is voter registration and voting so restricted in the first place? This article has some great ideas using existing technology and data.

 

There isn't an absence of voter fraud.  There are numerous examples of voter fraud in recent elections.  The problem here is that none of it is being investigated because the justice department has made it clear that they will stand on race when it comes to this issue. Liberals love to use the term "widespread" as if that somehow diminishes voter fraud at any level.  Even in the article you posted, the good lib who wrote it used the term.  So, does that mean democrats are okay with a lot of fraud as long as it's not wide spread? 

 

I'm curious.  How is it a poll tax to charge for a state ID for minorities, but it's not if it's a white paying that same fee?  I'm pretty sure white folks are expected to pay for their IDs just like everyone else, right?  This notion that requiring IDs to cast a ballot is racist has other ramifications that liberals love to ignore.  You need an ID to get social security.  You need an ID to cash a check.  You need an ID to gain access to government facilities.  You need an ID for hundreds and thousands of tasks we perform on a daily basis.  Is all of that racist too? Or, is  it just when you talk about expecting someone to have an ID to vote?

 

If having an ID helps reduce voter fraud, no matter how rampant or not it is, then it makes election results more legitimate. 

 

As far as the technology goes, your lib writer evidently knows nothing about identity fraud that IS a rampant problem on the Internet.  He must have missed the many stories of systems being hacked and customer's personal information being stolen from retailers like Target among others.  Yes, billions of transactions take place over the interwebs on a daily basis.  It's reported that 1% of those transactions result in fraud.  Now, if 125 million votes are cast in a presidential election, and we use his dismissive comparison to Internet fraud, you're talking about 1.25 million fraudulent votes being cast in 2012.  Feel free to dismiss that.  I won't. 

 

I do agree that there are probably more efficient, effective ways to cast ballots in elections.  I just don't trust the government to be the architect for that system.

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