Voting issues

So I am perusing various news sites and news stations, somehow I keep hearing the same story. Democrats are worried about the black vote. Not the classic suppressed vote, but the fact that they are feeling less inclined to vote -- thinking their vote doesn't count.

How does that old saying go? A lie if repeated often enough...and they all have been lies. Remember the Florida police holding black voters back and denying them their right to vote? It was a traffic stoppage for everyone because some guys decided to rob a bank and the police had to cut traffic off in order to catch them. When things like this are perpetuated people feel discouraged, and rightly so.

Another thing that bugs me is if people were truthfully concerned about voting and an accurate tally of votes, they would push for voter ID. The first thing you usually hear is that "poor people don't have ID!" which is a total falsehood. The poorest of people, those on any kind of government aid, have ID. You don't think that you can go to apply for low-income housing with no ID, can you? Or any housing for that matter.

Even the most basic apartments run a credit check. People on welfare need to produce government-issued ID to get paid. You can't just go downtown and give them a name and address to mail a check to. Actually, checking that people are who they say they are is an accepted practice in all forms of government except voting, and yet everyone in the U.S. is issued an ID card from Social Security.

If it is OK for Wal-Mart to require an ID for returning a product, how is it unacceptable to ask that you are voting in the correct precinct, with the correct name, as the correct person? It is well documented that there are numerous people voting who are dead, some deceased before Reagan was in office. Some are honest mistakes, others are simply fraud.

Something to ponder as you wander into your polling place on Tuesday.

Ken, I agree with you about the voter ID cards. I cannot understand why many people are opposed to voter ID cards. As long as there is equal access to the cards, for all Americans, I do not see the problem.

What I am concerned about is the new electronic voting machines and the lack of a paper trail. I think voter ID cards would reduce voter fraud, wheareas electronic machines with no paper trail would greatly diminish the integrity of election outcomes.

Patty, the machines in Minnesota have a paper trail. In fact the new ones are quite slick and still give you a paper ballot with your choices checked. It is a good system and I hope you give it a try this Tuesday.