Voter ID Issues

For John, BLUF:  Is it wrong to demand an ID to sell booze?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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My brother Lance sent me this item from The New York Times.  It is about "Students Joining Battle to Upend Laws on Voter ID", with the sub-headline being "College Students Claim Voter ID Laws Discriminate Based on Age".

We, here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are a voter ID kind of State.  The only thing is we don't much enforce it.  Why would we?  Aside from Lawrence, and maybe some other locations, there is no voter fraud.♠  I have been assured that such is the case.

On the other hand, I wonder why it is so hard for folks to have an ID.  I am firmly against a national ID requirement.  That would be a bad thing.  On the other hand, folks need an ID to drive.  I have seen signs in banks requiring two IDs to conduct business.  When I have visited our local Lowell High School I have seen that the students have ID cards around their necks.  Night School at UMass Lowell doesn't require IDs.  Working with children at Church requires a CORI, which requires a photo ID to complete.

An ID to confirm you are who you are doesn't seem unreasonable.  The question is, why hasn't our various levels of Government made an effort to get everyone an ID?  I will grant you that the homeless may tend to misplace their ID's, or have them stolen, but that is an administrative function.  It may represent part of the larger homeless problem, but we could find ways around it.  For example, we could make issuance of ID efforts just before voting time.  That will also encourage such folks to actually go out and vote.

What this gets down to is a certain level of personal responsibility.  Having an ID should be part of being a citizen.  Voting is that important.

In the mean time, this is just a Democrat dog whistle.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Well there is that case out in Minneapolis, where it is Democrats accusing Democrats of voter fraud, but that is inside the Democrat family, so maybe it doesn't count.