The new and improved, fight-free Romney vs. Obama thread!

As I noted above, in many cases, there is a cost involved.

 

Well, we could require everyone to get a photo ID or pay a tax/penalty of $25 annually. Because, after all, it's the free riders who are dragging the whole voter eligibility system down ...

 

Everyone should show photo ID to vote, just as the Framers intended in 1787.

 

Fuck those guys. Why should we follow anything that was ever suggested by a bunch of farmers who all died more than 200 years ago?

Or something like that.

 

I would have no objection to voter ID IF the U.S. or state government furnished every voter with an ID free of charge upon the act of registration. Let's not kid around. These laws are intended to restrict the franchise. They are heinous acts. And any American denied their legal right to vote has every moral right to take action, including violent action, against the government which stole that right.

 

But no one is being denied the right to vote. In fact, I'd argue that voter ID laws are meant to protect the right to vote for people like you and I so that some asshat can't just walk into your polling place and vote for you.

And spare me the "There's a cost" argument. Getting an ID is free. How you get to the place to get your ID is your problem. If you don't want to pay for bus fare, walk and if you can't be bothered to spend $2 to take a bus or walk for 45 minutes to use your right to decide who leads your country, well, simply put, f*ck yourself.

 

I hear that's legal now.

 

States such as Wisconsin and Minnesota already have same-day voter registration. And most states have the moter-voter thing. Just combine the two.

If we're going to require an ID to vote, make the DMV or ID station a polling place. You ought to be able to get your picture ID and vote the day of the election.

Philosophical objections to early voting aside, it would give people time to make sure they're in the right place or get an ID if they didn't have one. If they don't come back at that point, they're on their own, but I know lots of states that have early voting have reported significant ratesof people showing up for early voting, encountering problems and being able to clear them up in time to either vote early or vote on election day.

 

Not sure I'd call myself a right-winger, but I know no malice was intended.

I'd have no problem with IDs being given out for free. I think, assuming that you still had to pay for a driver's license, that demand would be very low, but if you want an ID and you can't afford or don't have a driver's license, you should be able to get one.

I have no problem with early voting.

I have no problem with same day registration. The last two states where I've lived have had that. In fact, I had to do that in 2004 before I voted in the primaries.

 

- Rita Platt is a Wisconsin resident who was turned away from her attempt to obtain a voter ID because she required either a birth certificate or a passport to obtain one — both of which can only be obtained if the voter pays a fee. Worse, in Wisconsin, voters must fill out a misleading form which suggests that they cannot obtain the birth certificate they need to obtain a photo ID unless they already have a photo ID.

- Ms. Ruthelle Frank, now 84, is a lifelong resident of Brokaw, Wisconsin and a member of her town board since 1996. She has voted in every election over the past 64 years but she does not have a voter ID card. She located her birth certificate but found that her name was misspelled. She was advised to obtain a certified copy of the incorrect birth certificate and try to use that to obtain a voter ID card.

- Mr. Ricky Tyrone Lewis is 58 years old, a Marine Corps Veteran and a lifelong Milwaukee resident. He was able to offer proof of his honorable discharge but Milwaukee County has been unable to find the record of his birth so he cannot obtain a voter ID card.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/22/449243/report-nine-people-denied-voting-rights-by-voter-id-laws/

 

Shit, we might have ourselves a movement... And all you gotta do is sing it when it comes back around on the gee-tar.