The problem, as I see it, with requiring picture ID for voting is that IDs cost money. If you require an ID to vote, you have to make that ID available for free, and that includes getting the person to the place where the IDs are issued. In some places that is a very tall order and is a way of disenfranchising the poor. Secondly, this type of voter fraud just doesn't happen. It's legislating against hurricanes in Kansas. Being able to present your voter registration card should be sufficient. If the government has done their job, you shouldn't be issued one of those without having been properly vetted.
And if we only let people who understood all the issues vote, there would be probably 1% of the population allowed to vote. MOST people have a series of issues they care about and just guess on the others. I, on the other hand, TRIED to research every state judge who was up for re-election and do you know I couldn't find anything, INCLUDING asking friends who are members of the bar? At the time, I knew a lot of very connected lawyers and they couldn't give me the first clue about who the good ones were.
But back to college students. Your college bill will be one of the most expensive things you purchase in your whole life and will undoubtedly affect your entire future. Why shouldn't you be allowed to vote at school? Also, colleges have a great history of teaching kids the importance of social activism. And that goes for both young Republicans and young Democrats. If you allow those kids to vote now, they are going to be voters the entire rest of their lives. History says once you vote, you are a voter for the rest of your life. So grabbing them at 18 is critical to the future of American democracy.
Now, we can get into an argument about whether we REALLY want democracy or if we only want the right people making our decisions for us if you'd like. I live in a place where the right people make the decisions for me. Thankfully, he is a really good guy and really does what is right for his country. But would I plan for that to be true for the next 225 years? Democracy works such that the right will win out over the wrong, even when you let the people you think are stupid participate.
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"Traveling - It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. ~ Ibn Battuta
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