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Home » ACLU Insider » Archives » From the Chicago Sun-Times: Photo ID laws create unnecessary hurdle for voters
From the Chicago Sun-Times: Photo ID laws create unnecessary hurdle for voters January 10, 2008 01:10 PM A lot of people are still angry about the Supreme Court decision that put George W. Bush in the White House instead of the guy who got the most votes, Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore. Today, the Supreme Court will consider another crucial matter that could be as politically divisive. Should states require voters to show photo identification before they can cast a vote? Our neighbor, Indiana, has the strictest voter ID law in the nation and is being challenged in the Supreme Court. This has widespread consequences because legislators in 27 states have proposed similar laws. Republicans, including the Bush administration, back the law because they say it will cut down on voter fraud. What fraud? There haven't been widespread documented problems with voter fraud in that state. Democrats view this law as a sort of modern poll tax that will hurt low-income, minority, elderly, disabled or homeless voters who do not have photo IDs or have expired IDs. There have been cases of elderly people who couldn't vote after the Indiana law was changed. We agree that there shouldn't be extra barriers for U.S. citizens who want to vote. "Requiring an ID is dangerous," Cook County Clerk David Orr said. "It raises issues that I think are bogus, prompted more by politicians than by a real need." Orr said there are few cases of people trying to cheat the system, and voter registration can be verified by checking someone's signature digitally. Also opposing the Indiana law are the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union. One study found that anywhere from 6 percent to 10 percent of voting age citizens don't have a valid photo ID, which could amount to millions of voters. That's enough to shift an election. "These are the groups we fought so long and hard for to have the vote," said Ed Yohnka with the ACLU of Illinois. "This is about who has access to the ballot box." The Supreme Court could rule by the summer, in time for the November election. In a year where the contest is sure to be close, as many Americans as possible should be allowed to vote. Online: http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/732506,CST-EDT-edit09b.article |
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