Spreading the Snark

The voter ID topic is hot again, and I've been all over the comment sections on other blogs. I decided to compile my sentiments here.

Jenna said: God knows this means little, as the spineless Senate has to take it up next, but it's a step in the right direction.

My reply: Can't we just petition the State Elections Board to make a retroactive change to the rules?


Elliot asked: Who is more Racist... ...the people who want everyone to show an ID when voting…or the people who argue that blacks are too incompetent to get an ID?

Me: Why do I need an ID? According to Russ Feingold the government is already watching my every move. Don’t they know who I am already?


Fred sparked a fury of comments with: Can someone please explain to me how asking to see an ID to vote is racist?

The obvious answer: The plastic card is white, implying that in order to vote you must have a white backround.

Jeffffffffffffffffffffffffffff wanted to argue about the fairness of requiring an ID at polls. To that I had the following answer:

But what if these people work between 9-5 every week day? The DMV will have to be open during the same hours as polling stations, meaning until 8 p.m. Who's going to pay for that Fred? How are the disabled going to get I.D.?? I guess you'll have to make them available by mail, who's going to pay for that?

Interesting. The same person who is not motivated to get an ID, even though it will probably improve his quality of life to do so, is somehow motivated to work a 9-5 AND to vote?

Incidentally, many of the crummy jobs (the kind that never give you personal time, no matter what) that I'm certain this person is FORCED to accept by our unfair economic system tend to require at least a driver's license (and the ability to pass a drug test).

This person that you've created: the man who works all day and can't afford to pick up a free ID, but REALLY REALLY wants to vote is a percent-of-a-percent-of-a-percent if he exists at all. This one person's tragic inability to ask his boss for an hour off of work is the reason the rest of us can't have a fair election?

Give me a break. Unless you're suggesting that we ban photo ID altogether, for any purpose, the "fairness" arguement doesn't fly. This guy has as much right to drink, smoke, and buy cough syrup as I do, too. Where's the outrage over that? Are you assuming that if he wanted those things he would get an ID? I know I am.

Our pal, Scott Feldstein, thinks there are millions of tragically oppressed people floating about without IDs and voting. I couldn't disagree more, and I told him so.

Now that we have an understanding of who the disenfranchised person is, we are left quibbling over how many of them there are. You say the number is insignificant. I say it's not. Don't you think it behooves us to actually find out and back that up before we do this ID thing?

Scott,

Find me an address. I will personally write to the guy's employer(s) explaining how vital it is that this person who gets to work every day for his 9-5 job without a driver's license and really wants to vote has a state ID. If the employer refuses to cooperate, I will help expose the SOB as an unreasonable jerk.

Just get me a name and enough information to go on.