Quote:
Originally Posted by AOE-7
I still don't understand why people are so against voter IDs. I'm not being a punk here.... I just don't get it. If you are a legal US citizen, you should have an ID to prove it. And I get it... there are fake IDs... okay, okay. Do you guys have any better suggestions?
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The sticky part is that in (especially) urban areas, where minority populations are higher, requiring an ID also requires that someone be able to get to a DMV or state office, which is often a PITA (I went to the DMV to get a new driver's license on a day where I didn't have access to a car, it took me almost an hour to go a couple of miles because these places are sometimes awkward to get to via public transportation). Add in the fact that these things are not free, so lower income populations are less likely to be able to get them.
In rural areas, where minority populations are lower, if you don't drive, it can be a real problem to get to a DMV to get a state ID card - my DMV growing up was a half hour driving and probably 20 miles away from my town.
So, this basically discourages indigent populations without access (or, in urban areas, need for) to cars from voting, because they have to jump through extra hoops that they wouldn't otherwise have to jump through in order to vote.
Edited to add: Voter ID laws can also have an adverse affect on other populations, like the elderly, which is a population that tends to vote to the right of center. So it actually hurts both "sides" which is why it's so odd to me that either party supports it.
I get the sentiment that ID should be required, although I think the problem is over-exaggerated, but given the ID system we have now (quite frankly, you should get a state ID in school and there should be a myriad of places where one can get a state ID OUTSIDE of a DMV or State Secretary Office), enacting such laws without overhauling how we do IDs could have a significant chilling effect on minority and low income voting populations.
TL: DR, lots of legal US citizens do not have ID to prove it.