Pros And Cons Of Voter ID Laws

When the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as, the Motor Voter Act) was passed, I believe it may have had a postive effect by facilitating the registration process. However, people have become significantly lazy in the past few years. Even though this act made it very easy for peoplet to register to vote, I believe many feel as though their personal vote is insignificant or maybe they just really don't have an opinion in politics. But in reality, their vote would definitly make a difference. I feel as though it is a privellage we as a people get to vote for our leaders of the country and many may have forgotten that with all of the political wars and arguing going on around us today. When I am able and the next election comes

Mostly the democratic party has ideas that are against voter ID. Voter ID is a discrimination against the people who can’t afford and are unable to get some sort of ID in order to vote. This group of people that can’t acquire ID are mostly African Americans, hispanics, and minorities. Voter ID would also eliminate a huge part of the democratic votes because these people would have most likely voted for democrats (because they are against voter ID). This is a huge disadvantage for the democrats because republicans would have bigger numbers and the democratic ideas would not get as many votes. If we had voter ID, the only people who would be able to vote would mostly be white. In our modern day society, they tend to have the most money and have

Along with acquiring a voting I.D., another thing the Grand Old Party is doing that hurts the minority is to cut down on the days and hours that are crucial for them. With 80% of Americans spending their time working extra hours and 6.5 million people holding 2 jobs as of July of 2010, cutting down on election days would be a disadvantage to not just the people who are working these arduous hours but to our Democratic government(80 Percent Of Americans) (In Weak Economy). When it comes to cutting down days for an election, you have to change your whole schedule that most of us follow religiously, and if your state has passed laws that require you to hold specific voter I.D., you have to go out and acquire it and then register to vote before the deadlines that they have set up and once that’s done you have to reorganize your whole schedule just so you can have a say in government.

The fact remains that in an ever-evolving modern society, IDs are a necessity for people in their daily lives (Zorka). IDs are needed to board a plane and to protect against insurance fraud (Zorka). Does this make airports and hospitals racist? (Zorka). The fact remains that the majority of people in the United States have identification, and it is not that much to ask to have them bring it to vote (Kobach). Kobach points out that there are more valid IDs in Kansas than there are eligible voters (Kobach). Zorka goes so far as to say that it is racist to claim that voter ID laws are disenfranchising because you are saying that minorities are too lazy to get the identification needed to vote (Zorka). In Indiana, driver’s licenses are free, which means that in no way is a voter ID law a poll tax (Siegel). Also, identification is not needed for those who are disabled or older than 65 because this may be burdensome on them (Siegel). Voter ID laws are a necessity, and the burden of obtaining an ID is not something that great. This is why the claim that voter ID hurts minorities is

The idea of obtaining a voter ID and presenting it at polls to vote is a concern amongst Republicans and Democrats. Republicans believe that a voter ID should be required at polling areas and create laws in support of this notion, however Democrats believe that by passing these laws we deny the constitutional right of citizens to vote, therefore rendering these laws unconstitutional. I for one believe that we should have voter ID laws which required people show a form of ID at polling stations to ensure that votes registered for a poll are that of a citizen and that of the one who is voting. Based on the three articles from The Enduring Debate, debating whether we should have Voter ID laws, we can see as to how voting fraud can be committed and how it’s only use may possibly be used to push the Republican agenda and disrupt the Democrats agenda.

Throughout the years, the United States has been choosing its president using the electoral college, voter ID laws to reduce voter turnout, gerrymandering to choose our representatives, and using methods to select candidates in the primaries. Through the electoral college, their presidents have been unfairly chosen using the winner take all system. In this system, if they, the voters, choose the losing party, they might as well go home because of how it works. To make matters even worse, voter ID laws have been making their laws even more difficult to surpass, in able to reduce the number of votes. Gerrymandering is used to give a party a special advantage by using the packing and cracking method, and as for the primaries, they are held by

b.) Both Motor voter laws and Photo identification laws do not stimulate voter turnout in United State’s elections. Passed by Congress in 1993, Motor voter laws allow people to register to vote when applying for a for a drivers license. In addition, the laws provide disabled people with public assistance for voter registration fees and permit registration via mail. The passage of the laws was intended to make voter registration easier in order to encourage voter registration. While the

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, such proposals were considered by 34 states in 2011, and in 32 states in 2012# . Nine states now have laws in place that require citizens to show government-issued photo identification before casting a valid ballot.

In 2002, with the intention of updating election technology, hampering voter fraud, and increasing faith in the electoral system, President George W. Bush signed into law the Help America Vote Act (Gerken 14). Since the implementation of this act, controversial voter identification laws have begun springing up all over the country. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “thirty-one states require all voters to show ID before voting at the polls. In fifteen of these, the ID must include a photo of the voter; in the remaining sixteen, non-photo forms of ID are acceptable” (Voter Identification Requirements). In 2005 Indiana lawmakers passed one of the strictest voter identification laws in the country requiring voters

Our Voting System is clearly being corrupted. Problems identifying legitimate voters is much more serious than anyone is acknowledging. With identity scams on the rise, states are getting tougher on the identification requirements needed to vote. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a provision of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional and those counties and states previously subjected to these laws did not need approval to make changes to their voter ID laws. Eight states passed voter ID laws that year. Since then three states Georgia, Indiana and Florida require photo ID’s, eighteen other states now require some form of identification (National Conference of State Legislatures), with the other 25 only requiring signatures. In lieu of all the voter ID fraud, is it imperative for states to put in place a Voter ID Law? Will these laws put a burden on the states citizens or will they become disenfranchised if they don’t have the proper ID (Rodriguez, US. Election Assistant Commission), and is it just another hurdle that voters will have to leap over to vote for who or what they believe in?

There is no doubt that the attacks on 9/11 caused Congress to pass the Real ID Act in order to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining a U.S. driver’s license. Congress said the Real ID Act is about security, not stigmas. The law was intended to set principles for states that issue licenses and to procure acceptable documents. However, due to budgets, there are not enough resources to verify the accuracy of these documents from foreign countries. This is based solely on three 9/11 hijackers being able to obtain state identification cards while using fictitious documents. In total, thirty three hijackers acquired state driver’s licenses. Unfortunately, stern stipulations have gradually decreased due to several states and local governments allowing Identification cards to be issued without distinguishing from an authentic driver’s license (Jeunesse, 2015).

While the main purpose for voter ID is to eliminate fraud and corruption in the American voting system, it has brought with it consequences that discourage and even prohibit eligible voters to vote. The 2012 election, a vast number of state required a government-issued photo ID. Even the state Indiana required this even though “state GOP officials couldn 't provide a single instance of a voter committing the type of fraud the new ID law was supposed to stop” (Berman). Surprisingly, in Wisconsin, they will only except ID’s containing “a current address, birth date, signature and two-year expiration date” that so far

Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws have made trouble in states, including Texas, regarding to the various amount of identification requirements needed.

In recent years, society has noticed increasingly minute numbers of voters. Regardless of what is causing people to stay home, it is a big issue. Voting is a right, every citizen is entitled to having a voice in the government. We can choose to vote or we can choose to abstain. This is not an issue, until voting numbers are so low it is hard to even call elections. To help fix this, countries have implemented a system called "Compulsory Voting", or more blatantly put as "Mandatory Voting". This system would require all citizens (capable) to vote. On paper, this seems like a good idea. However, it is a removal of right. To have a right is to have an option. We as citizens have the right to almost anything we want. The Constitution gives us options. You wouldn't say we have the right to pay taxes. We are required to pay taxes. Obligations are not considered rights. Making the right to vote mandatory would be removing one keyword. RIGHT.

Texas has also long supported an increase in border security. In 2006, Gov. Rick Perry announced a plan that assigned Department of Public Safety personnel as well as other resources to the border to assist in law enforcement. He also added an additional $3.8 million in grant funding for state criminal justice planning funds to the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition. (Texas House of Representatives) The state’s legislative policy has been one of strict anti-immigration. In Texas’s 81st Legislative session, the issue of Voter ID arose. The Voter ID bill would require photo identification or two forms of other identification in order to vote. During the 81st session, Democrats filibustered to prevent the issue from being voted upon, it is very likely this is the only reason the bill did not pass and it likely will pass should it reappear in the 82nd session.