A theme that I have followed in this blog is the question of whether it’s a good idea to require a picture ID of some kind before permitting a citizen to vote. In another article in the New York Times called “Republican Legislators Push to TIghten Voting Rules”, Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina had this quote:
“If you have to show a picture ID to buy Sudafed, if you have to show a picture ID to get on an airplane, you should show a picture ID when you vote,”
Which is pretty convincing comment, on the face of it, isn’t it? Except:
- Voting is far more important than buying a Sudafed. It’s far more serious injustice to be prevented from voting than from buying a Sudafed.
- Not all flavors of Sudafed require Picture ID
- It’s legal to have someone buy a Sudafed for me, it’s illegal to have someone vote for me.
- Voting is restricted to happening on one specific day. You can always come back tomorrow to buy your Sudafed if you need it
- Coincidentally there’s a good correlation between people (poor people, elderly people) who don’t have a picture ID. These people also happen to skew strongly Democratic.
- Coincidentally there’s no such correlation between people who want or need to fly
So…should I, being non-american, be able to vote in the US? And not only be able to vote, but be able to vote as many times as I want? Without an official and proper ID, it’s a piece of cake to do, as proven in Mexico in the 70’s.In Mexico you have to register to vote, and get a special ID to be able to vote…without the voting ID, you are not voting…and I think that’s the right thing to do.
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