Ed. note: We're republishing this post from 2007:

Why Democrats Oppose "Voter ID" Bills

This post is written to explain in greater detail than the sound-bytes and radio talk show propaganda, why it is that Democrats really oppose the Voter ID bills that have been introduced in a lot of states, including Texas.

First, let me take the opportunity to state unequivocally that Democrats, like our Republican colleagues, absolutely believe that all voters should be eligible American citizens.

But our higher concern is that all eligible citizens should be voters. Nothing would please us all more than to have an educated and engaged electorate that actually cares to research the candidates and issues and vote their conscience. This is the system that guarantees the continued success of almost 231 years of freedom from tyranny.

The concept of “one person – one vote”, though fairly new in world history, is pretty much universally accepted in this nation. There are admittedly, still some extremists out there who would exclude certain groups by the reinstitution of Jim Crow if they had the chance. But that’s not what this post is about.

Democrats have often been accused of wanting to register illegal aliens to vote and/or grant amnesty and citizenship to aliens in order to gain voter base. Though there is no evidence that this practice is widespread, and government reports have admitted as much, this practice, if it happens, is despicable. The Democratic Party absolutely condemns this and ANY practice which would either allow illegal voters, or deny the vote to legitimate voters.

So, the seemingly obvious answer to the question of who is or is not an eligible voter has been to require identification and proof of citizenship for those who vote. After all, most of us who are politically engaged – those of us with internet access reading this post, do easily have access to identification. The argument goes that one must have identification to rent a movie, so why not I.D. to vote?

The problem here is that Democrats see the nuance. We realize that there is a law of unintended consequences. Both parties are aware of this universal law, but they only seem to drag it out when it’s convenient. Your average radio talk show host will lose his audience if he talks nuance and unintended consequences. So the issue is turned into an artificial dichotomy: You’re either for Voter ID, or you’re for voter fraud.

Why ID Bills and Proof of Citizenship Bills are Bad

Well, if the mere mention of the word “nuance” hasn’t lost you, and you’re still reading, here’s why the I.D. Bills and Proof of Citizenship bills have been problematic:

• Although most working age middle-class citizens do have drivers’ licenses, this is not the case for everyone. Specifically, older citizens who have quit driving, or are in nursing homes not only lack valid drivers licenses, but they lack the ability to get to the polls. Their votes should count. Previous generations realized this, and have provided for mail-in ballots. Requiring ID other than a valid voter registration, effectively kills the mail-in-ballot.
  
• Identification in the United States is not yet standardized and adopted. The only national identification that proves not only citizenship AND identification is the U.S. Passport. A drivers license is simply a license to drive. These are issued to foreign nationals today – even in Texas. By law, it is supposed to reflect an individual’s residential address. Different states have different license and ID cards, with many different versions. Ask any bartender about how difficult it is to keep track of what each state’s IDs look like, and the fact that they have special books – thick books- that show and describe versions of the IDs of each state. Bills that call for ID at the time of voter registration are problematic because they make it difficult for new residents from other states and counties to register to vote. If one must first get their ID or Driver’s license address corrected, and then register to vote, you effectively lengthen the 30 day requirement for pre-registration before an election.
  
• Documents like birth certificates, passports, and naturalization certificates that prove one’s citizenship are not commonly and widely held by even the average citizen. Each of these documents costs money to obtain – in Texas, $23 to obtain a copy of your Texas birth certificate. If you were born in another state, there will be some cost, along with a good amount of hassle to obtain this document. Putting a price on the prerequisites for voting implements a de-facto Poll Tax, which is constitutionally prohibited.
  
• Strict ID requirements create long lines and confusion at the polls. I can tell you from personal experience, having worked the polls on Election Day, that getting people checked in on the voter rolls and getting them ballots takes time. There are seldom enough volunteers to help with this. If we had been required to check IDs and verify an exact match, it would have lengthened lines and caused legitimate voters to either turn around, or have to wait a long time. Now for me personally, I’ll wait in line however long it takes. But unfortunately, many Americans are so ambivalent or disaffected by the system that they would just turn around.
  
• There is just not currently an inexpensive, fair, and unobtrusive way to verify citizenship of voters, other than the methods currently in use.
  
• So far, the extent of the problem with voter fraud has not been quantified, other than anecdotal cases. But the bills that have been discussed to combat this problem carry definite quantified costs to the taxpayers, and anticipated costs in terms of disenfranchised voters.

The True Problems

As I’ve said, Democrats do care about keeping the democratic process of voting secure. First, we need to identify and solve the most important and significant problems.

We believe the most common forms of election fraud and unfair play involve factors that have nothing to do with individual voters, and everything to do with political maneuvering and deception:

• Purging
• Caging
• Gerrymandering
• Voter suppression
• Shenanigans by vote counters
• Failure to locate enough voting locations or voting machines certain neighborhoods.
• Lack of single-member districts in some localities.

So what would Democrats support?

With regard to voter ID, our national infrastructure just simply doesn’t yet support this, and without trying to start arguments about a national ID card, voting would be one of the major arguments for it. Here’s what it would have to have in order for me to support it:

• Must state whether the individual is a citizen or not.
  
• Must indicate the home address.
  
• Must contain a photo and/or biometric keys
  
• Must have the utmost fraud prevention measures.
  
• Must cost nothing. (Otherwise, requiring it for any government reasons would amount to a poll tax)
  
• Must be easy to obtain.
  
• Must be widely accepted and held by all Americans, including the elderly, the naturalized citizens, and minorities.

Getting to this point will take many years, and a lot of collaboration between the states’ bureaus of vital statistics so that from birth or naturalization to death, some state or federal authority will be able to identify an individual. The technology exists, but for various philosophical reasons, people disagree on whether this should be something that government does.




Summary

If there is voter fraud, it ought to be identified and prosecuted – and not selectively targeted against the minority party by whichever party is currently in control.

Democracy is a precious gift from our forefathers, bought and paid for by the blood of Americans. Above all else, we must preserve the democratic process as an inheritance for our children and theirs.

Those who currently go on about voter fraud are simply using a distraction technique to draw the public’s attention away from the real impediments to the democratic process in this country.

Originally published 2007-05-29