“But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed.”
- Shakespeare, Othello, act iii. Sc. 3.(Quote posted on the Us Department site regarding ID theft)
The first argument we are hearing about the new voter I.D. laws, is bringing the Jim Crowe laws back into the forefront:(Wikiedia) The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly “separate but equal” status for black Americans
Nothing, I repeat nothing about the new voter registration policies have anything to do with the Jim Crow laws. Bringing Jim Crow up is a way to label anyone who is against voter identification as a racist, and is yet another platform to create further victimization of the black community, as well as any community in our country which considers themselves to be victims of repression(we don’t include women here, since we are never figured into this equation, it always seems to only reflect racial or religious designations). I would argue it is the opposite. States are trying to preserve our voting rights by preventing yet another form of identity theft. Consider the hell you go through if you have been a victim of identity theft; yet this is concern at the financial level, with little or no considerations to the other problems created by this theft of a person’s name. I will return to this in a moment.
The liberal argument that it discriminates against minorities and the poor doesn’t hold water. Even the poor must have ID to apply for food stamps and benefits. If a person doesn’t drive, he can get a state ID card or a birth certificate from the State Board of Health, so getting an ID isn’t as difficult as it is being made out to be.
But Holder, has to stir that pot, trying to take your eye off Fast and Furious as well as the right to vote, and yes it is a right, and it should be protected not watered down to accommodate, nor create imagined civil rights violations. It is easily forgotten how truly easy it is to prove voter disenfranchisement, in our current day and age. You cannot convince me that a person who is legally trying to vote and being refused the right to do so, wouldn’t also have the ability to produce an example of what happened, and probably have a few witnesses as well, not to mention cell phone photos and a video to go viral on you tube, followed by a Facebook posting. Take a deep breath and check out what Heir Holder had to say about it all.http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2011/ag-speech-111213.html
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum
Voter ID has been the hottest topic of legislation in the field of elections this year. There are just three states–Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming–that don’t have a voter ID law and didn’t consider voter ID legislation this year. The voter ID legislation under consideration this year can be broken down into two types: proposals for new voter ID laws in states that don’t presently require voter ID at the polls, and proposals to strengthen existing voter ID requirements in order to require photo ID at the polls.
Thirty-one states require all voters to show ID before voting at the polls. In 15 of these, the ID must include a photo of the voter; in the remaining 16, non-photo forms of ID are acceptable. Voter ID laws can be broken down into the three following categories:
- Strict Photo ID (8 states): Voters must show a photo ID in order to vote. Voters who are unable to show photo ID at the polls are permitted to vote a provisional ballot, which is counted only if the voter returns to election officials within several days after the election to show a photo ID. At the beginning of 2011, there were just two states–Georgia and Indiana–with strict photo ID laws. Two states–Kansas and Wisconsin–passed new strict photo ID laws in 2011, and three states with non-photo ID laws–South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas–amended them to make them strict photo ID laws. None of these new laws is in effect yet, although they likely will be before the 2012 elections. Also in 2011, Mississippi voters approved via the citizen initiative process a strict photo ID requirement. The legislature will have to pass implementing legislation before the requirement can take effect. .
- Photo ID (7 states): Voters are asked to show a photo ID in order to vote. Voters who are unable to show photo ID are still allowed to vote if they can meet certain other criteria. In some states, a voter with ID can vouch for a voter without. Other states ask a voter without ID to provide personal information such as a birth date, or sign an affidavit swearing to his or her identity. Voters without ID are not required to return to election officials after the election and show a photo ID in order to have their ballots counted in the manner that voters without ID in the strict photo ID states are. The seven states with photo ID laws are Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan and South Dakota.
- Non-Photo ID (16 states): All voters must show ID at the polls. The list of acceptable IDs is varied and includes options that do not have a photo, such as a utility bill or bank statement with the voter’s name and address. Rhode Island passed a new voter ID law in 2011. It takes effect in stages — beginning in 2012, voters will be required to show an ID (although not necessarily a photo ID) at the polls, and in 2014 a photo ID requirement will take effect. http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16602
- What’s the Department of Justice Doing About Identity Theft and Fraud?
The Department of Justice prosecutes cases of identity theft and fraud under a variety of federal statutes. In the fall of 1998, for example, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act . This legislation created a new offense of identity theft, which prohibits knowingly transfer[ring] or us[ing], without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.” Ohh except when that applies to Identity theft in the venue of FEDERAL voting.
I really don’t care if the new voting laws offend some people, and I mean “some” people! Hell these people(and I mean these people) who choose to see this as racist and choose to make a civil issue out of a I.D. protection need, would find racism evident during a fricking eclipse! Cry to someone else, I just don’t care anymore. I mean isn’t it odd that the people who would commit voter fraud will have to produce identification for that Public Defender that will be provided for them? Yep they will, you have to prove you are indigent. If you are arrested, you are likely to stay in jail until you are identified; if you don’t ID yourself, you can’t petition the court for a lawyer. If you don’t when you are in front of a judge, he will place you in contempt and jail you until you decide to be forthcoming. You can’t even pay a fine for a minor infraction and be on your way unless you have been identified. Further the A.C.L.U., requires identification should they decide to take your case. There is more of a burden on children to go to public school to provide I.D. than what is being requested of voters.
The parent, legal guardian, or temporary custodian of any elementary age child enrolling in a Chicago public school is required to submit proof of age and required medical records to the school.Proof of age-Includes, but is not limited to, any ONE of the documents listed below:
- Child’s birth certificate
- Child’s baptismal record
- Passport
- Court documents
- Medical records
- Proof of current address-Includes, but is not limited to, any TWO of the documents listed below:
- Current utility bill
- Illinois driver’s license or State of Illinois identification card
- Deed
- Employee identification number
- MediPlan/Medicaid card
- Court documents
- Illinois Department of Public Aid card
- Stamped United States Post Office change of address form
- Illinois state aid check/social security check
Health requirements-Children are encouraged to submit their required immunizations and physical prior to the start of the school year and no later than October 15 of the current school or they will face expulsion from school.
Other little factoids of Identification requirements:
In order to drive most vehicles, you are required to have a license and to produce it on demand. Failure to have your driver’s license with you while driving your car can result in a ticket or even arrest.
Also, if you are registering to vote for the first time, you must include a photocopy of a government-issued ID with your photo and address on it (a driver’s license or U.S. passport will work). (If you don’t have a driver’s license, you can call your local election official to find out what other forms of ID will work.) This photocopy must be mailed along with your completed and signed voter registration form to your state’s election office (the address already on the form).
You should bring all of your charging documents, and you must provide proof of income when making an application at one of the local Public Defender Offices. http://www.opd.state.md.us/eligibility.html State of Maryland
NYCHA 070.008 (Rev. 8/2/11)v4-Applying for a Library Card in person N.Y. City
REQUIRED IDENTIFICATION: We require verification of name and address information. If this application is for a child under age 12, the identification provided must be for the parent/guardian. Identification provided may not be expired. A.P.O. Box may be accepted for the mailing address if a verifiable home address is included on the application… Show us any ONE of the following New York State IDs: Current driver’s license; current photo learner’s permit or current non-driver’s identification.
-OR-
Show us any TWO of the following IDs with one showing your photo and the other your current address: Current employee photo ID card; NYC welfare ID card; current photo school ID; current photo college/university ID; current passport; photo Alien registration card; armed forced ID card; Medicare card; working papers; transit pass; Social Security card; birth certificate; any piece of your mail (delivered within the last three months); bank statement (within three months); check or checkbook with name and address; NYS motor vehicle registration; professional, vocational, or union photo IDs; rent bill; current rental or lease agreement; tax bill or receipt, utility bill (electric, gas); telephone bills, cell phone bills, cable bills (all within three months); current photo ID with signature & expiration date issued by an Embassy or Consulate in New York.
Non New York State residents who work, attend school or own property in NYS must provide appropriate documentation such as: business ID cards, school ID cards, property tax bills, or deeds.
From the ACLU- Question: Do I have to answer questions asked by the agents?
The law does require you to give your name, other than that you have the constitutional right to remain silent. It is not a crime to refuse to answer questions. It is a good idea to talk to a lawyer before agreeing to answer questions. You do not have to talk to anyone, even if you have been arrested or are in jail. Only a judge can order you an answer questions.
Question: Should I carry my green card or other immigration papers with me?
If you have documents authorizing you to stay in the U.S., you MUST carry them with you at all times. Presenting false or expired papers to DHS may lead to deportation or criminal prosecution. An un-expired green card, 1-94, Employment Authorization Card, Border Crossing Card or other papers that prove your legal status will satisfy this requirement. If you do not carry these papers with you, you could be charged with a misdemeanor crime. Always keep a copy of your immigration papers with a trusted family member or friend who can fax it to you, if needed. Check with your immigration lawyer about your specific case. You may be required to show your identification to police officers, border patrol agents and aircraft pilots as well.
Ok I will stop now. Are you pissed off? You should be. You see the argument that can be used against the hand wringers for voter’s rights is the same argument they are using themselves, and I know a very clever attorney out there will figure this out. The right to vote is in our Constitution and does not qualify what we cal “I.D.” today. The right to legal representation is also right there in those same Amendments, and also does not qualify what we call I.D., today. How can one be represented for a civil rights claim over Jim Crow -like, disenfranchisement due to being required to show I.D?, when to obtain said representation requires an I.D. standard of equal or greater force? It can’t. You cannot apply this law at one end and not the other, either anyone can get any form of legal representation and they don’t have to prove who they are, but that won’t work because the court must have the person identified, you don’t have John Doe cases for the living! Nor can you have the John and Jane Doe’s voting, zombie’s all!…. Ooopsy. Mr. Holder…take your eyes off the skin color game, take a look at the law instead.
Examine this from a true civil rights perspective then, and stop aiding and abetting voter fraud. There are facts that prove the fraud being perpetuated due to the lack or identification or lack of ability to check for identification. It is also a civil rights issue to disallow whole state’s to identify their need for voter identification, when one is basing the equality on non-existent complaints. Voter fraud cases are rampant and proven and directly related to the lack of identification or the multiple voter registration fraud examples perpetuated by Acorn. Show me the current cases of voter intimidation based on a person not being allowed to vote related to race, based on not having an ID, show me the multiple instances of this, where a person in the last election to now has been denied the right to vote, because of race and I.D., I know if there are any, they are not based solely on those two issues, but I promise I can prove and show the voter fraud cases taking advantage of those very laws meant to protect the integrity of the vote.
Let’s put this in perspective, shall we? In Tennessee, I have to show a driver’s license or state-issued photo ID to purchase alcohol. This is a state law applicable to all persons, irrespective of how old they appear. But the regressives would have us believe that requiring an ID to vote is racist. Well, I suppose then that minorities in the State of Tennessee who don’t have an ID to vote also can’t buy alcohol. Isn’t that a bit racist not allowing people to purchase the poison of their choice simply because they “can’t afford” an ID? Moreover, which is more important to our collective future, ensuring that underage citizens don’t purchase alcohol or ensuring that those who vote are actually citizens of this country?
An ID is required for all manner of transactions, some minor and some consequential but the only one they seem to have problems with is an ID for voting. That this is the case speaks more to their marginal logic and shallow character ultimately than it does to the requirement for ID.
As far as I’m concerned, no ID equals no vote.
There is nothing racist in requiring a picture ID to vote and those making this accusation know that but they want to ensure that illegals, dead people and convicted felons will be able to vote for Barry come November. Jim Crow laws my ass.
If you live in this country, you must have either a driver’s license or state ID in order to do ANYTHING. It is impossible to remain in this country for any length of time without having to get one. There is no excuse for a “legal” citizen not to have one. The state of SC will even pay for it, if you cannot afford it. I don’t know if my state does this, but I imagine they probably do.
The only transparency about this administration is that they are trying to steal elections; purely, simply and transparently.
I hope at least one of the GOP candidates (I’m guessing which one) will call them out on it.
The last four years have taught us that there are people within our borders, who could care-less about our civil liberties. They want a NWO and are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to make it happen.
True that, bj. They do seem to care more about the rights of illegals than they do of actual citizens. I simply don’t understand the regressives at all. This will ultimately be our collective undoing and they will be affected as much as the rest of us. Their agenda is destructive and myopic.