Georgia's new ID restrictions on voting...Racist or not?

[BikeWriter]

Voting Bill Leads to Walkout in Ga. Senate
The state Senate's Democratic caucus, led by the chamber's black members, walked out of the Legislature Friday after an emotional vote on voting rights.
Immediately after a 7 p.m. vote that would eliminate 12 of the 17 forms of identification that may be used at Georgia polls, a majority of Senate Democrats, including all black members, left the chamber.
"This is wrong!" Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, shouted before the exit. "We will not go back."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=4&u=/ap/20050312/ap_on_re_us/senate_walkout

[BikeWriter]

1. Georgia Democrats need to have a "Get a picture ID drive."

[illflem]

2. I have no problem requiring a picture ID to vote

but feel it can be any form of ID, there is no need to legislate what type of ID it is.

[BikeWriter]

4. The majority of the poor, including poor blacks will not have one.

[BornaDem]

7. I don't know about GA, but the Dept. of Welfare in some states...

used to provide people who received food stamps with a photo ID so you could prove to the store that the stamps were yours.

[dsc]

8. electronic cards now

with pin numbers no id needed.

[BikeWriter]

29. That still doesn't mean poor folks will have one.

[Leilani]

35. The article said

free IDs will be provided.

[BikeWriter]

37. Oh, that sounds fine, but they won't provide transportation!

[roseBudd]

44. The problem is getting the info out that the IDs are free and then

implementing the access. Unlike liquor stores and lottery ticket vendors, BMVs are not on every corner in the ghetto.

Voter fraud is a red herring!

[serryjw]

19. I live in CO and it cost me $6 for a state ID!

We have so many REAL issues to fight...this is not one of them IMHO. NO can cash a payroll check w/o a state ID at a check cashing company.

[BikeWriter]

30. Excuse me, the really poor do not have payroll checks.

[serryjw]

51. Of course they do.....

They still work( maybe only minimum wage) and they can't cash as federal welfare checks unless they have ID. Stop pandering. Even if you are poor, you need ID.Scotus ruled 6 months ago that the police can ask for ID if you are stopped. We have no many important issues to fight for, THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I'm not going to help the underground economy to survive. I would bet you a month's salary that most of the 50% that don't vote are from the underclass.
The reason why dems can't get anything done is because of your attitude. Choose your battles wisely. We lost an election that we REALLY won because of voter/election fraud with these damn TT voting machines. That means we have NO IDEA if yours and my vote counted. Do you think I give a damn about requiring American citizens to have an ID?

[BikeWriter]

52. I am not pandering. I don't have a picture ID myself, so sue me.

AND DON'T SHOUT AT ME! I can hear you just fine.

[qwghlmian]

54. You don't have a picture ID?

So - you don't drive, you never travel by plane, you don't have a bank account, and all your transactions are in cash, right? Unless you're homeless, please explain how you manage to pay all your bills in cash - do you go to electric/phone/water company offices in person and pay your bill there?

[BikeWriter]

56. They know me at my bank. I pay my bills by mailing checks. I've not had..

...a picture ID for several years. I did have my voter's registration card and voted without a problem.

[qwghlmian]

58. So - when you opened your account, you had a picture ID.

When you go to stores, do you always pay in cash? If not, and you pay with a check, do they also know you in every store you shop at?

Has it ever happened that you were asked for an ID and when you didn't have it you were not allowed to pay for something/use some service? And if so, do you like being inconvenienced?

[BikeWriter]

60. I am never inconvenienced. Most places will still accept cash without...

...requiring an ID. :)

[qwghlmian]

61. Ok - now the clincher

if your state passed the law that would require you to present a picture ID when voting would you:

a. get a picture ID?
b. refuse to get a picture ID and not vote?

[BikeWriter]

63. Choice A, of course, but I am not a typical destitute minority voter...

...who probably neither owns a PC nor has a connection to the internet(s). How many of them do you think would hear about the new requirement before the next election?

[qwghlmian]

64. Judging by the Indiana bill (don't know about Georgia

but it's probably similar), the state will have to send a letter in snailmail to every registered voter to notify them of the picture ID requirement. Of course, if people do not read their mail, they will not know about it. But then they probably won't know there is an election, either.

[BikeWriter]

65. People usually hear about elections by word of mouth or noticing...

...the signs out. Your post does raise another point. There are many of the elderly who either cannot read because of vision problems or never learned to read.

[SoCalDem]

84. It's up to the Georgia Democratic party to canvass their voters

and arrange for transportation if necessary. It's a good thing to have the proper ID so one is not challenged. On that ONE day when there is a possibility to vote, it's of the utmost importance to HAVE the necessary documentation.;. The Dem party there should also make SURE that people who THINK they are registered...ARE..

I would like to see August..every August as "Voter Check-Up Month". That way if problems ARE found, there is usually plenty of time to get them corrected nefore deadlines make it impossible.. Lots of voters get disqualified because they move and never bother to get their information updated..They find out on election day that they are NOT properly registered..

When we are up against the Repube-Bots is very important to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s.. They thrive on "technical errors" made by our voters and are so gleeful to announce that "Dem voters" are too "dumb" to understand..Remember Palm Beach??

[serryjw]

55. WHY would you not

have a picture ID? You can't even get on a plane?

[BikeWriter]

57. I don't want to get on a plane! Those damn things fall out of the sky...

...with people who oppose bush on them!

[serryjw]

68. Does not warrant another response

n/t

[BikeWriter]

69. Because one is paranoid does not mean someone is not out to get them.

Besides, I haven't ridden in a plane since 1969. :)

[Sugarbleus]

3. WTG Sen. Democratic Caucus and Vincent Fort!!

What the hell is wrong with Georgia these days? Starting to sound more and more like "Texapublicanland". This statement does not include loving, sensible non bush supporters in either state...:loveya:

[BikeWriter]

5. I'm in Texas and all we have to show is a Registration Card.

I say it's racist as hell!

[Sugarbleus]

6. I'm in Cali. I just show them my elections booklet--no ID....

But then my residence is the same from year to year. I get an elections booklet with my name and precinct printed on the back. Come to think of it, that's all I have to show when I go to vote. I don't possess a registration card..hmmm, I never thought about it before. Weird.

Maybe it's different with those who have moved or whatever(?)

But, yeah, we know that in some states there's a concerted effort to keep "certain" folk from EASILY getting to the voting booth and that's just plain wrong.

[XemaSab]

12. I've never had to show anything

just sign the book next to my name.

[Sugarbleus]

24. Yep, I did that too..n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

15. When I went to vote this last election

it was mine and my brother's first time and he couldn't find his ID and my mother was with me when I went to vote and she asked them about that and all he had to do was show his voting card and his SS card. No Id.
:shrug:

[dsc]

9. In NC the first time you vote you show a pic ID if you didn't show one

when you registered. I don't know if it is racist or not, it would depend upon its application. I can't imagine too many people don't have pic IDs these days given the need to have them for so many things.

[qwghlmian]

10. Is it racist to require a passport to re-enter US?

Is it racist to require a picture ID in order to drive a car?

Please clear something up for me. Why would anyone possibly consider a picture ID requirement "racist"? Is there something that prevents non-whites from getting picture ID cards? I could see how such a measure could be considered anti-vampire, since they supposedly do not photograph well, but "racist"?

When you shout "racist" at silly stuff like that, you devalue the meaning of the word.

[chunkylover55]

13. Thank you. Your reply reflects my sentiments exactly, you just put

it much more eloquently then I could of.

[SemperEadem]

48. than you 'could have'

not 'could of'.

[BikeWriter]

31. We are speasking of the indigent and elderly here.

Neither of which may have picture IDs.

[Leilani]

36. Well, don't move to Hawaii

Because you need a picture ID for EVERYTHING.

It's not racist, it's a matter of identification.

I moved here without a picture ID license, so I have to carry my passport everywhere, for any banking, airlines, rental applications, etc., etc.

[BikeWriter]

38. Hawaii is a long way from Georgia in more ways than one.

[hughee99]

81. Are a majority of the elderly or indigent minorities?

Possibly a disproportionate percentage of the indigent (though I'm not sure about that) but I doubt that a disproportionate of the elderly are minorities. I can see where you can make the argument that this is discriminatory, but not necessarily discriminatory based on race, therefore, IMHO anyway, not racist.

[AlinPA]

11. All you you to vote in PA is your name; they look it up in the book of

registered voters in your precinct and that's it. You don't even need the card they give you when you register, it is just to remind you where to go to vote.

[FreedomAngel82]

14. I think it is racists

They could be stopping voting fraud but they also know what would happen. To me this shows they're trying ANYWAYS possible (legal or not) to make sure a democrat never wins again. They know what they're up to. They can act innocent all they want but it won't change what they're trying to do.

[qwghlmian]

16. They may know "what they're up to", but I have no idea -

please enlighten me. How exactly does the requirement to show picture ID when voting discriminate against democrats? Is there something in the Democratic Party platform that prevents people from getting picture IDs? The article that is referenced in the original post even claims that people who cannot afford to pay the fee will get a picture ID for free. What is it exactly that you find "racist" about the requirement?

As I asked before, do you find it "racist" to require pictures in passports when re-entering United States?

[tkmorris]

18. You're missing it

Requiring ID of some sort or another isn't what is racist. The Republicans in GA are requiring ID that poorer blacks (and whites for that matter) are less likely to have than those who are in a higher economic class. They know that this requirement will primarily impact the poorer black communities and it is being assumed here on DU that that is their reason for the change.

I would argue that the law change is more class discrimination than racial on the face of it but nonetheless it will affect blacks more dramatically than whites. In fact, if history is any indicator, it seems likely that this law will be enforced far more strictly in black areas than in white.

This law is strongly reminiscent of the sorts of silly elections and voting registration laws that used to exist throughout the south which by themselves were not racist but were in place solely to keep blacks from voting. You know, things like poll taxes and literacy tests. Remember those?

Edited to comply with OSHA code.

[qwghlmian]

20. I am sorry, I still don't get it

Please explain to me why it is so "dramatically" (as you put it) difficult for a poor person to get a picture ID. Seriously, maybe I am missing something here - please explain. If someone does not have a driver's license, it would take at MOST a couple of hours to get a state ID, and, as the original article pointed out, for those who cannot afford to pay the fee (what is it today, $10?) it would be free. And you have to do this exactly once. There is no expiration date on those state picture IDs, is there?

This is not a "poll tax". This is not a "literacy test". This is an absolutely minimal identification requirement. If you walk in and show a library card it does not identify you. There is no way to tell that you are the person whose name is on that card. Saying that it is "racist" (or "classist", for that matter) to require a picture ID for identification is ridiculous.

[tkmorris]

23. One more try

You've called my point of view "ridiculous", and claim that I stated it would be "dramatically" difficult for a poor person to acquire an acceptable picture ID, which I didn't say, but hey I'll play along in good faith.

First of all it matters little whether people have equal access to the new ID's or not. What matters is that come election day more white people than black will have a form of ID acceptable under the new law.

Secondly you must understand that very few people are going to acquire a form of ID solely for the purpose of voting. In these poorer black neighborhoods there are legions of perfectly eligible voters who do not at the present time carry or need an ID of the sort being legislated as a requirement to vote. They are not likely to jump through a series of governmental hoops in order to acquire one either. Thus, they will not be allowed to vote. The people in higher classed neighborhoods (and by higher classed please realize that I mean virtually anyone above poverty level) will not have any issues since a far greater percentage already carry an acceptable form of ID. The end result of this law will inevitably be that more perfectly otherwise eligible voters from poor predominately black neighborhoods will be unable to cast a ballot.

Now let me ask you a question. Please argue why this law is necessary in light of already widescale disenfranchisement of black voters.

[qwghlmian]

25. You didn't explain. You just asserted.

I asked you to explain WHY you think people in poorer neighborhoods do not carry picture IDs. You have to have a driver's license with a picture ID to drive. You have to have a picture ID to use food stamps for groceries. You have to have a picture ID in order to cash checks. You have to have a picture ID to do any kind of transaction in the bank. You have to have a picture ID in order to write a check. Please explain your assertion that "more white people than black will have a form of ID acceptable under the new law". Do you have any proof of that, or is it just your opinion?

Why is it necessary? You really have to ask? In order to make sure that the person voting is, in fact, who he says he is. A better question is why would you object to making sure that the person who came to vote is identified correctly.

[tkmorris]

28. You've never lived in poverty have you?

Believe me, there are many who do not have drivers licenses. If you cannot afford a car of what use is a license? You do not need a picture ID to use food stamps. You do have to have one to conduct business at a bank but a great many people in such neighborhoods do no business whatsoever with banks. Their lives are strictly cash in hand, no banks involved. And no, this is NOT just my opinion, I have lived that life. I no longer do; I am an upstanding taxpaying member of society now but I was not always. I know that of which I speak. And I know exactly why this law was passed and it wasn't because too many people were voting who shouldn't have been.

This law is intended to prevent the poor from voting, nothing more and nothing less. Your posts smack strongly of Republican talking points, the kind that imply that only a certain kind of American is eligible to participate in the process, and I find such attitudes insulting. This is America. The default position here should be one of freedom, one of inclusiveness. We should not be trying to preclude people from voting, we should be enabling as many as we can to do so. We should be celebrating that which makes us free, not trying to find ways to shut people out of those freedoms. Do you remember the phrase "innocent until proven guilty"? That concept speaks to a fundamental truth that real Americans believe in. We are FREE, and all of us enfranchised, and those freedoms should never be taken away lightly. If there are people you don't think should vote I think the burden is on YOU, not on them, and I would like the law to reflect that.

I don't think you're being honest here. I think you know full well that poorer blacks are less likely than middle and upper class whites to have the trappings of American society, such as drivers licences etc. Having read your posts you do NOT strike me as a fool. So why do you pursue this so vehemently? I am trying to take you at face value but I cannot understand what motivates you in this discussion.

[BikeWriter]

33. Thank you very much. You're entirely correct.

[qwghlmian]

42. All I see from you is hearsay -

show me some data that indicates that the poor are less likely to have picture IDs. I dispute that assertion.

As for your "freedom" argument and "inclusiveness" and "innocent until proven guilty" - that is laughable on its face. Bring that argument up next time you're at a bank and you want to withdraw money from your account and you're asked for identification. See how far you get claiming that "innocent until proven guilty" should apply. ROTFL.

[manic expression]

72. Did you even read his post?

"You do have to have one to conduct business at a bank but a great many people in such neighborhoods do no business whatsoever with banks. Their lives are strictly cash in hand, no banks involved. And no, this is NOT just my opinion, I have lived that life."

Did you read it? Did you? He just said that much of the poorer classes (predominately Black, coincidentally) do not do business with banks. They are much less likely to have picture ID's, as this is common sense. He just listed every reason why, and so I'll leave you to actually read his post.

Your entire argument is that poor people are BOTH just as able and just as likely to possess picture ID's as those of higher classes. Your response to his post which proved you wrong had nothing to do with what he was saying. People in such conditions do not use picture ID's as much as those of higher classes. Therefore, your example of the bank is perhaps a good way to look at the REAL situation: "democracy" should not be like a bank at all, and anyone should be able to withdraw their fair share of "money" (voting). Now that the government is asking for unfair obligations to vote, which SHOULD be an unconditional right (but is not in America), many people are now wrongly deprived of the ability to withdraw the money which they rightly own (votes).

I hope you're done ROTFLing, because you are making a fool of yourself.

[qwghlmian]

74. The ones who are making fools of themselves

are people who claim that there is an inalienable right to vote without adequately identifying yourself. That is ridiculous on its face.

Voting already requires a bit of an effort. You have to register, then get off that couch, walk or drive somewhere, stand in line, etc. etc. If we take your logic to its conclusion, the state should remove all those "impediments" as well. That is, the state should be responsible to bring the voting booth to everyone's couch. That is what is so ridiculous about your (plural) arguments.

Requiring proper identification when you vote is an absolutely and utterly reasonable requirement. Anything short of picture IDs is simply not adequate, since it is wide open to fraud. If you cannot/won't get a picture ID to identify yourself in order to vote - I guess you just didn't want to vote enough.

On edit: and judging by the poll in the original post, it seems that my viewpoint has at least as much support here as yours. Thank God commonsense is still alive and well.

[manic expression]

75. How, exactly, do you live with that tunnel vision?

Those "impediments" are somewhat equal along race and class lines. Everyone can register, get to the voting station, wait and vote in much the same way (although they DO very much put extra barriers for blacks and poorer voters). The problem arises when you force people to rely on something which is not very available or necessary in the lives of the poor. This makes it patently unfair and wrong. It is unbelievable that you would so callously shrug off impoverished voters by saying that photo ID's are their responsibility, even though it is not needed or practical for those people.

You are so ignorant it is puzzling. No one ever said the inconveniences of voting should be removed, but that this impediment of impoverished (and guess what? Most of them are black!) voters is not needed or justified in any way. Stop trying to slime our arguments.

'Well, I guess if they're born in poverty and forced to follow bogus laws such as getting a gratuitous ID to vote - I guess they just didn't want to vote enough.'.... GIVE ME A BREAK!

You should be ashamed of yourself.

By the way, are you done with using "on its face", yet?

[qwghlmian]

76. Your argument is specious -

you rely on the "fact" that you made up that the picture IDs are not "very available" or "necessary" in the lives of the poor. Well that's plain wrong. It is "very available" - all you have to do is drop by nearest DMV and pay $10 or so (or, according to the proposed laws in the original article, it will be free for those who cannot afford the $10). You cannot make it much more available than that. As for "necessary" - yes, it is necessary. It is necessary to adequately identify yourself in order to, among other things, vote.

[manic expression]

77. Hmm...facts do not seem to be your strong point

The article said that people can "request" an ID if they cannot afford it. That is HIGHLY suspect, especially coming solely from a backer of the bill.

You still ignore the arguments made by tkmorris, ones that are in fact true. Poor people do not have any use for photo ID's in their lives. Simply read tkmorris' post (as I suggested earlier) and you will see this. It should not be necessary to have a photo ID to vote, it is not done this way in other places that have no amount of voter fraud.

[qwghlmian]

78. I have seen voting in two countries outside of the US -

in both of them picture IDs were required. Please tell me which Western country does not require picture IDs to vote.

[manic expression]

79. Please tell me

which countries those were. Many places in the US does not require photo ID's to vote. Just ask the people who posted on this very thread saying that they have never needed to do such a thing.

[qwghlmian]

80. I was talking about outside of the US -

the fact that US allows voting without adequate identification only underscores the fact that the voting system in US is riddled with problems.

The countries were: Great Britain and Israel. Again, find me one Western country that allows its citizens to vote without presenting a picture ID (at least) for identification.

[tkmorris]

82. Let me ask you a question

You mention fraud when referring to our voting system here in the United States. I agree, there IS fraud, tons of it.

Which do you believe is the greater injustice in the voting process as it stands today, people voting who do not have the right to do so or people being prevented from voting through various means such as being forced to stand in lines for 8 hours plus (strictly in poor neighborhoods of course), being removed from voter rolls improperly, not having an ID acceptable to the elections officials, wrongly being labeled a felon, and so on?

If you truly think that the greatest fraud in our current voting system is that people in poorer neighborhoods who should not be allowed to vote are currently voting using non-photo ID than I suppose you are correct to take the stance you have. I would argue that the greatest injustice in any way you care to measure it is the number of people who have every legal right to vote being excluded from the process by various and sundry means such as those mentioned above. This Georgia law is merely a new way of increasing that fraud, this is quite clear to me, and for that reason I oppose it with all I hold dear. I truly do not understand how a Democrat could have witnessed what has occured in the last 3 election cycles and think that what we need is to make it MORE difficult for poorer voters to participate. It is absurd "on the face of it", as you are fond of saying, and I am afraid we will have to agree to disagree.

[qwghlmian]

87. One is an injustice, the other is fraud.

Both should be prevented. It is not an either-or proposition, you know. Asking for picture IDs will not make the lines greater or smaller. One does not affect the other.

[tkmorris]

83. Interesting. You didn't answer his post either.

Doing business at a bank is not the same as voting. Voting is a right granted by default to any citizen of this country. Why should it not be so? What our elected officials do affects all of us after all.

Banking on the other hand is a financial contract. Believe it or not there are those in our society who do not and indeed cannot conduct banking transactions most people would consider routine. Would you believe I was once turned down an application for a checking account? My credit was so poor this bank did not want to grant me the ability to write checks against my account. The credit score I had at that time stemmed entirely from being dirt poor. You seem unable to grasp what it is like to live in this fashion. That isn't unusual; virtually no one who hasn't been there seems to grasp what the life of a truly poor person really is like.

Here in America we have a long history of denying people we don't want to influence the process their right to vote. Do you deny this? If we are to be the "land of the free" we celebrate in song we must begin to live up to that. You made light of my comment about being innocent until proven guilty but I think that philosophy really does apply here. My point there was that we assume people to be fully accredited members of our society, entitled to all the rights therein, unless it is proven that they should forfeit them. In that spirit I look askance at ANY law which seeks to prevent people from voting without firmly establishing that they should not.

There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution that requires anyone to hold a picture ID. If nothing other than as an intellectual exercise I encourage you to imagine a citizen of the United Staes who does not have such an ID but is nonetheless eligible to vote. Should he/she be prevented from doing so for ANY reason? I am afraid that YOU must demonstrate why this person should not be allowed to participate in our democracy rather than that person prove to you why they can. That is the American way as it was taught to me in grade school. As I grew older I learned that that vision of our country is largely a fable but nonetheless I believe it to be a worthwhile goal. I will fight for that vision to my dying day. You may feel free to attempt to restrict voting to those you consider worthy of it, I will do my utmost to extend that right to any and all affected by the results.

[qwghlmian]

86. We have restrictions on who can vote in this country -

you have to be 18 years old or older, you have to be a citizen of the United States, in most states you're required not to be a felon and you have to be registered in the precinct to which you came to cast your vote. Correct?

How do you propose we ascertain that the person who walks into the precinct and wants to vote meets the above criteria *and* is who he says he is? You want me to imagine someone without identification who is eligible to vote and ask me if he should be prevented from doing so. I say yes, absolutely, that person should be prevented from voting unless he can show to the voting officials that he is actually eligible to vote. One requirement for such proof is a picture ID.

If the elections in the US were opened to every resident regardless of age and were national with no local races, then what you are saying would make sense. All you would have to do is dip the voter's finger in ink after the vote, and that's it. Since we do have all those restrictions on who can vote, adequate identification is required.

[Lars39]

45. So if you've had your license yanked for some reason,

you aren't allowed to vote?

[qwghlmian]

46. Then you can go and get a state ID

it should cost around $10 (and, according to the original article here, is free if you cannot afford the $10).

It boggles the mind that for some people requiring proper identification (and no, your library card is not proper identification, since anyone can show it and pretend to be you) when voting is bad or "racist" or "anti-poor".

[BikeWriter]

32. Screw passports! The people we're refering to do not go on cruises...

...or airplane flights!

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. Since it's a case of free ID's being rejected in favor of paid ones.....

then clearly it's economic discrimination, if not overt racism. Of course the poor who vote (or at least those with brains who vote) wouldn't be too likely to vote Republican.

[Generic Guy]

21. I don't believe the act itself is racist

but, I am pretty sure the reasoning behind it is racist. Hopefully that makes sense lol.

[Lexingtonian]

22. oh, yay

It's just slimy idiocy. Wow, check out all those 'illegal' voters going to the polls in Georgia....

Of course, what it really is is an abuse of enforcement of Equal Protection Of The Laws. Of course, present Georgia state courts are going to pretend that it's all aboveboard.

Still, what it really means is that black people in Georgia have to really organize politically and get all these procedural obstacles bypassed en masse, then make sure to punish some state lege Republicans for it at the next election.

[qwghlmian]

26. Let me understand this -

you think that on one hand "black people in Georgia" are too apathetic to make sure they have picture IDs, but on the other hand are so charged up about this "injustice" that they are going to "really organize politically" and punish some Republicans?

Which one is easier? To go and get yourself a readily available picture ID, or "really organize politically"?

[Lexingtonian]

27. you have no point that I can discern

and you're imputing things to my words that aren't there to any reasonable person reading them.

[BikeWriter]

34. Thank you. Some have a difficult time understanding the poor.

[qwghlmian]

43. Ok - let me explain then

This is what I discern from your post:

1. Since you object to the picture ID requirement, presumably on the basis that it discriminates against blacks, then it would be reasonable to assume that you think that the blacks in Georgia are not interested *enough* in voting to go and spend an hour getting a picture ID.

2. Yet you still think that those apathetic non-voters should "really organize politically" in order to punish Republicans.

Funny.

[manic expression]

73. Funny, indeed....

The poor, and therefore, many blacks, are not nearly as likely to have picture ID's as other people. It is unfair to ask for such a requirement when a certain part of a population will be unable or somewhat unwilling to do so. This is not saying they are apathetic at all, it is saying that they are less likely to have the means to vote when others easily do, which is disgusting.

They should organize politically, but I am afraid it would be better if their government would stop carrying out such base deeds. Anyway, have you ever heard of the Black Panthers? This is what I think should be done here if the government continues its course.

I find your insipid comments quite comical, actually.

[Bridget Burke]

85. Of course he has a point! Several, fact: All Right Wing Talking Points

The Black Democrats from Georgia object strongly to the bill, introduced by the Republicans. Without knowing further details, I believe I'll trust them. ("Them" not being "Republicans.)

[LizW]

39. It may not be racist, but it is definitely intended to supress Dem votes

Just look at who is supporting it and who is against it and that tells you all you need to know.

Here in Alabama, the Black Legislative Caucus resisted voter ID for a long time because they knew it would suppress black voting. The Republicans finally tricked them into going along by promising a bill that offered a wide variety of acceptable IDs and also agreeing not to filibuster a bill restoring felon voting rights.

Both bills passed and then the Republican governor sprung the trap and signed the voter ID bill and vetoed the felon voting rights bill. The Black Caucus screamed and yelled but there was nothing they could do, they'd been had.

Right now there are 26 different forms of acceptable identification in Alabama. But if this measure succeeds in Georgia, I expect Alabama to follow in limiting them.

[paineinthearse]

41. Has anyone here ever gone to the poll and not been allowed to vote...

...because someone had already voted in your name?

I support photo ID issued by a government agency (drivers' licence, motor vehicles bureau ID card, or passport).

[LizW]

47. Free to those who can't afford them?

Because otherwise the requirement amounts to a fee to vote.

[paineinthearse]

67. I suggest you work with your legislature

Anything required by the govenment should be free of charge. If an ID card is required, it should be free of charge.

Another viable form of identification is a voter registration card. I got one (free) when I registered to vote. Had to ask for it, but I got one.

[paineinthearse]

40. The crybabies need to stop whining and propose a logical solution.

Move on.

[BikeWriter]

50. A logical solution is not to require an ID with photograph.

They gave no evidence of prior misuse of the vote as reason for it.

[Ernest T Bass]

66. Another logical solution

Issue ID's at the polling places. If you're capable of making your way to the polling place to vote, why not get your ID there? What's the problem? What hardship would that pose on anyone?

[paineinthearse]

70. A logical solution is a free photo ID program

1. No extra burden on the poor.
2. Insures voter identity.

Is this too simple a solution?

[BikeWriter]

71. Transportation to and from this program. Documentation....

...Many do not have their birth certificates. Others of the poor were delivered at home and may not even have one. These are all reasons the repubs are pushing this. Again, it's racist and class based discrimination.

[IndianaGreen]

59. This is part of the Fascist agenda of GOP, it is happening in Indiana too!

They are doing this same thing in Indiana:

Divisive photo ID bill may advance

Amended measure requiring identification at polls could be voted on Monday in House committee.

By Michele McNeil
March 13, 2005

Photo IDs have become essential tools of modern life -- you need one to board an airplane, cash a check and even to sign up for movie rentals.

Some Indiana lawmakers now want voters to get carded at the polls, an idea that has been one of the most controversial of the legislative session.

Still, legislation that would require voters to show photo identification before they cast their votes could advance Monday in the House.

The law would make Indiana the only state requiring voters to show a photo ID, with no backup forms of identification, such as a utility bill, allowed.

Republicans contend the law is needed to curb vote fraud and maintain integrity at the polls. But Democrats say the law would make voting difficult, if not impossible, for low-income or elderly Hoosiers who don't have state or federal IDs or driver's licenses.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/228877-3039-103.html

[LiberalFighter]

49. It is more than racist

It is unconstitutional and discriminatory beyond just racism.

[BikeWriter]

53. Thank you. I agree.

[dhinojosa]

62. No, definitely not. But some concessions need to be made.

* IDs (not driver's licenses) need to be FREE so that the poor population can obtain them.
* Make it a multifunctional card, integrate it with food stamp amount and other useful information so that it is indispensible with the population.
* Voting can be done when obtaining a new card.


If people (particularly African-Americans) have to go through hoops to obtain a card, then we do have rascist problem.