March 24, 2016

"Wisconsin finds a way to restrict voter registration in the name of expanding it."

That's the headline at Americablog, where criticizing Scott Walker is the norm.

The new law provides for on-line voter registration. So what's the restriction?
[O]rganizations conducting voter registration drives must always collect a photocopy of a voter’s proof of residency and mail or deliver it with the form....
And: "[T]he online system requires voters to submit a drivers license or state-issued ID number, which many citizens in Wisconsin lack. These are the same voters who would be most likely to register to vote through — you guessed it — community voter registration drives."

83 comments:

Gahrie said...

Voting should be at least as difficult as cashing a check, or enrolling a kid in school.

traditionalguy said...

Flying blind is the way Dems roll. Just believe all theses voters are citizens qualified to vote, or else you are racist and excluding the illegal immigrant voters based on Hispanic Race.

SGT Ted said...

"[T]he online system requires voters to submit a drivers license or state-issued ID number, which many citizens in Wisconsin lack."

It is utter bullshit to claim that many citizens don't have a form of ID issued by the State. Not in this day and age.

Unless they're illegal aliens, then it would make sense that they don't have ID.

Michael said...

Zut alors! Someone is trying to restrict voter registration to people actually eligible to vote. Travesty!

Lucien said...

Do the people who think it's racially discriminatory to require photo ID to vote also agree that it is racially discriminatory to require photo ID to buy a gun?

Fernandinande said...

https://kb.wisc.edu/vip/page.php?id=9762
A free ID card is available under Wisconsin law to anyone who:
- will be at least 18 years of age on the date of the next election and;
- requests an ID card for the purpose of voting.

holdfast said...

If this is really a problem - and I don't believe that it is - and the Dems are so concerned about "their" poor, disenfranchised voters, why don't they just organize folks to get the state IDs? I assume that the non-driver ID is free - if it's not, then they should push for that in the state legislature.

holdfast said...

@Sgt Ted - I am sure that most of the illegal aliens have an ID too. Lots of states now give them Drivers Licenses.

TosaGuy said...

"What’s more, the online system requires voters to submit a drivers license or state-issued ID number, which many citizens in Wisconsin lack."

Wisconsin provides free ID cards to anyone who wants one.

The "article" also states that lugging around a photocopier to do voter registration is impractical.

Since I can now deposit a check with my phone, there is no reason why a voter registration app can't be developed.

These partisans at least need to think through their responses rather than just throw spaghetti against the wall.

Hagar said...

It ain't just spaghetti.

Jake said...

so get a state-issued ID already.

cubanbob said...

Funny how those people seem to have the proper ID for welfare benefits.

SGT Ted said...

"What’s more, the online system requires voters to submit a drivers license or state-issued ID number, which many citizens in Wisconsin lack."

The claim is complete bullshit.

It can't be said enough.

Bull----SHIT!

Nyamujal said...

So, how common is voter fraud in Wisconsin? I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers.

Nonapod said...

I'm curious what the actual percentage of adult Wisconsinites who are interested in voting who actually "lack" a driver's license or ID card. I'm guessing it's around .01%?

TosaGuy said...

Voter ID in Wisconsin cleared all of its judicial hurdles over a year ago -- meaning that people have had time to get an ID and political groups have had time to get people registered and outfitted with the proper ID.

Any cries from now going forward are simply partisanship and pandering.

Gahrie said...

So, how common is voter fraud in Wisconsin? I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers.

Actually, because of lax laws, and even laxer enforcement, it has been virtually impossible to detect and punish voter fraud up to now....which is exactly the way the Left likes it.

Curious George said...

Wisconsin One filed a lawsuit recently.

Lame.

TosaGuy said...

"So, how common is voter fraud in Wisconsin? I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers."

So, how common is voter disenfranchisement in Wisconsin? I'm sure the anti-voter ID side, which includes several people commenting here, have some numbers.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Democrat chorus: "Stop making it difficult for us to cheat. waaaaaaa"

MayBee said...

Shouldn't the left want poor people to have IDs, so they can fully participate in life? How can you get healthcare, or checks cashed, or a job without an id?

damikesc said...

I don't get it. If somebody cannot be bothered to get an ID, why should I care if they vote?

So, how common is voter fraud in Wisconsin? I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers.

How many crimes can one locate when one doesn't even attempt to record that a crime occurred?

If I NEVER happens, what is the downside? Can you name a country with a voting system so lax that ID is not required?

Michael K said...

"It is utter bullshit to claim that many citizens don't have a form of ID issued by the State. Not in this day and age. "

Maybe they should allow EBT cards. Democrats should be happy with that. That's 2/3 of their voters.

Nyamujal said...

@TosaGuy
https://www4.uwm.edu/eti/2007/VoterID.htm

Nyamujal said...

@MayBee "Shouldn't the left want poor people to have IDs, so they can fully participate in life? How can you get healthcare, or checks cashed, or a job without an id?"
Probably the best argument so far.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Liberals will oppose any plan that makes it harder for illegals to vote. That's what this is really about. They know everyone else already has a state issued ID.

Big Mike said...

@Maybee, you nailed it.

Nyamujal said...

A question for the prof:
Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election. So let's assume the Trump-Hillary 2016 election is too close to call in several states. There's a recount in say Wisconsin and Florida. It's 2000 all over again, only this time a circuit court in Ohio stops a recount and declares Hillary the winner while the court in Florida does the opposite. It goes to the supreme court which will be split 4-4. What happens in that scenario?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Nyamujal said...

I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers.

How could anyone possibly have the numbers? The fact that IDs are not being checked means that there is no way to generate the numbers. ( Of course checking IDs will also not generate the numbers either, since it will either prevent the fraud, or the fraud will happen with fake IDs. We might see a small number of cases of people getting caught using a fake ID, but those numbers will tell us little about the number of fraudulent votes that took place before ID was required. )

My personal feeling is that there is little fraud, and requiring ID would cause little disenfranchisement. Thus, ID vs no ID would be a wash, except for one important difference: Whereas anyone who does not want to be disenfranchised can take a simple action to avoid being disenfranchised, anyone who does not want their vote canceled out by a fraudulent voter has no ability to prevent that from happening. As such, the state has an obligation to prevent that.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

@Michael K

The Two-Thirds Compromise.

Anonymous said...

Any cries from now going forward are simply partisanship and pandering.

*****

No. It's aiding and abetting criminality at voting places.

Criminality....straight up.

It's the Democrat Way!

MayBee said...

Nyamujal- help me understand why anyone interested in voting wouldn't get an ID.

Curious George said...

"MayBee said...
Shouldn't the left want poor people to have IDs, so they can fully participate in life? How can you get healthcare, or checks cashed, or a job without an id?"

I've been saying this for years...I'll believe the left cares about voter disenfranchisement when they take up the inability of these same people to check out books at the library, get on a plane, etc.

It's bullshit.

Nyamujal said...

@MayBee, because some states have structured their laws to make it very hard for people to get the ID's required to vote. The purpose of the ID laws seems to be to target certain groups and not to eliminate voter fraud which is virtually non-existent.
Just some examples:
"A lawsuit filed against Alabama in early December 2015 cites the example of a high schooler who can’t vote because she lacks a driver’s license. According to the suit, she needs to get a state issued voter ID at the DMV, but the one nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip.
"
"
Texans without IDs must travel as much as a hundred miles to a driver's license office and submit appropriate documents, along with their fingerprints, to establish their qualifications. If they don't have the required papers, they must pay $22 for a copy of their birth certificate. If they can't come up with the money, they can't vote.
"
In North Carolina: "The bill's new provisions make it so that, with very few exceptions, a voter needs a valid in-state DMV-issued driver's license or non-driver's ID card, a US Military ID card, a veteran's ID card or a US passport. "
Finally, I think John Oliver sums the issue up the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHFOwlMCdto

Curious George said...

Wisconsin Voter
Just a quick note here.
No photo ID?
Get one they're free.

MayBee said...

Nyamujal- what about in Wisconsin?

About the student in Alabama- how do other students in her school get drivers licenses?

Curious George said...

"Nyamujal said...
@MayBee, because some states have structured their laws to make it very hard for people to get the ID's required to vote. The purpose of the ID laws seems to be to target certain groups and not to eliminate voter fraud which is virtually non-existent.
Just some examples:
"A lawsuit filed against Alabama in early December 2015 cites the example of a high schooler who can’t vote because she lacks a driver’s license. According to the suit, she needs to get a state issued voter ID at the DMV, but the one nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip.
"
"
Texans without IDs must travel as much as a hundred miles to a driver's license office and submit appropriate documents, along with their fingerprints, to establish their qualifications. If they don't have the required papers, they must pay $22 for a copy of their birth certificate. If they can't come up with the money, they can't vote.
"
In North Carolina: "The bill's new provisions make it so that, with very few exceptions, a voter needs a valid in-state DMV-issued driver's license or non-driver's ID card, a US Military ID card, a veteran's ID card or a US passport. "
Finally, I think John Oliver sums the issue up the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHFOwlMCdto"

Ok, what certain groups of people are being targeted based on your examples?

MayBee said...

All those laws that are supposedly designed to make it very hard to vote also seem to make it very hard to drive.
Do you think people are driving without drivers licenses?

MayBee said...

If you were here illegally, working on a fake Social Security number, and supporting kids you brought here illegally, and you knew one Presidential Candidate promised not to deport you and you believe one Presidential candidate would deport you or make it more difficult for you to work:

Why would you not vote?

SteveR said...

Creating the image of old women not being able to vote because Republicans want Voter ID laws is the goal here. No actual stories, or simple and realistic solutions necessary.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

GA Voter IDs are good for 8 years and free. You can get one by mail or at any DDS office.

GA passed voter ID laws in 2005 and passed a law making voter IDs available for free in 2006. You have to have a photo ID to vote in GA now. There was a big hue and cry when the ID law passed and predictions of terrible disenfranchisement that'd result...but none of that happened and it's not really an issue today. The state does some work with mobile registration (to community centers, nursing homes, and the like) before elections but otherwise everyone seems to have figured out that 1.)most people already have acceptable forms of ID and 2.)it's not difficult (neither expensive nor burdensome) to obtain the proper ID if you don't.
People argue that it doesn't prevent MUCH fraud, but I'd counter that requiring proper ID doesn't impose MUCH of a burden on anyone, so in terms of upholding the right to vote it's at worst a wash (in the sense that a fraudulent vote disenfranchises an actual voter just as much as a very minor burden on voting could possibly disenfranchise a potential voter).

I mean, if GA can figure it out, you brilliant Yankees ought to have no problems!

TosaGuy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TosaGuy said...

"@TosaGuy
https://www4.uwm.edu/eti/2007/VoterID.htm"

The link is about drivers licenses as photo IDs and how no one has a DL. Other forms of ID in WI are valid for voting and state IDs are free. We have also had election last month with voter ID in force and there were no real instances of disenfranchisement -- there were cases of obstinace but not disenfranchisement.

Do this much?

damikesc said...

Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election.

Can you provide evidence of this? Beyond "Because I think so".

Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election. So let's assume the Trump-Hillary 2016 election is too close to call in several states. There's a recount in say Wisconsin and Florida. It's 2000 all over again, only this time a circuit court in Ohio stops a recount and declares Hillary the winner while the court in Florida does the opposite. It goes to the supreme court which will be split 4-4. What happens in that scenario?

It'd go to the House.

Rusty said...

Nyamujal said...
@MayBee, because some states have structured their laws to make it very hard for people to get the ID's required to vote. The purpose of the ID laws seems to be to target certain groups and not to eliminate voter fraud which is virtually non-existent.
Just some examples:
"A lawsuit filed against Alabama in early December 2015 cites the example of a high schooler who can’t vote because she lacks a driver’s license. According to the suit, she needs to get a state issued voter ID at the DMV, but the one nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip.
"
"
Texans without IDs must travel as much as a hundred miles to a driver's license office and submit appropriate documents, along with their fingerprints, to establish their qualifications. If they don't have the required papers, they must pay $22 for a copy of their birth certificate. If they can't come up with the money, they can't vote.
"
In North Carolina: "The bill's new provisions make it so that, with very few exceptions, a voter needs a valid in-state DMV-issued driver's license or non-driver's ID card, a US Military ID card, a veteran's ID card or a US passport. "
Finally, I think John Oliver sums the issue up the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHFOwlMCdto


Are you advocating that the state provide them with rides?
Sometimes , in life, inconveniences crop up and they must be overcome. I think it's entirely racist of you state that minorities aren't equipped to overcome these inconveniences.

Todd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HoodlumDoodlum said...

Nyamujal said...Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election

Is that the (hypothetical) premise to your question or an actual assertion? If the latter I think you'll definitely need to "show some numbers" as you've asked of others here.

Here is the Wikipedia page for Voter ID laws I'm most familiar w/my state, GA, and everything I've read indicates the impact of our photo ID law on minority turnout is either 0 or very close to 0.

Interesting quote from that page: A 2005 report by Former President Jimmy Carter and Former Secretary of State James Baker concluded that concerns of both those who support and oppose strengthened voter ID laws were legitimate. It recommended voter ID requirements be enacted, to be slowly phased in over a period of five years, and accompanied by the issuance of free ID cards provided by mobile ID vans that would visit traditionally underserved communities

Hey, we're just doing what Jimmy Carter recommended. Surely no one wants to go against Jimmy C!

Todd said...

Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election. So let's assume the Trump-Hillary 2016 election is too close to call in several states. There's a recount in say Wisconsin and Florida. It's 2000 all over again, only this time a circuit court in Ohio stops a recount and declares Hillary the winner while the court in Florida does the opposite. It goes to the supreme court which will be split 4-4. What happens in that scenario?

Ohh, ohh, that looks like fun! I want to play too:

Let us say that voter ID laws are disavowed across the country and are unable to do what they were intended to do. Illegals vote, felons vote, there is double and triple voting, as well as other forms of cheating, enough to swing the election. So let's assume despite all of the Democrat cheating, the Trump-Hillary 2016 election is too close to call in several states. There's a recount in say Wisconsin and Florida. It's 2000 all over again, only this time a circuit court in Ohio stops a recount and declares Hillary the winner while the court in Florida does the opposite. It goes to the supreme court which will be split 4-4. What happens in that scenario?

Nyamujal said...

@damikesc : https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/09/report-voter-id-laws-reduce-turnout-more-among-african-american-and-younger-voters/

Nyamujal said...

@Hoodlum, Why should I care what Jimmy C thinks about anything?

damikesc said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/09/report-voter-id-laws-reduce-turnout-more-among-african-american-and-younger-voters/

Your claim was that the INTENTION was to reduce minority turnout. This article doesn't demonstrate any intention.

And why aren't Dems fighting to get their voters ID? Those voters have pretty shitty lives with no photo ID. They can't even attend rallies for their candidates without them.

Todd said...

Nyamujal said...
@damikesc : https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/09/report-voter-id-laws-reduce-turnout-more-among-african-american-and-younger-voters/

3/24/16, 12:11 PM


You do understand that the article you referenced used a GAO study of other studies to reach their conclusions.

In addition, their findings were challenged by: Kansas (do not believe the conclusions made in the report can be justified because of the invalid comparisons made, methodology fatally flawed), Tennessee (believe the report is fundamentally flawed), and Arkansas.

There are only 10 states that allow voting with no requirement for ID. All of the rest require some form of ID. 20 of the remaining 40 (that require ID) require photo ID.

Michael K said...

"Are you advocating that the state provide them with rides?"

Just come to California where anybody gets a drivers' ;license without any proof of anything.

My wife's DL expired on her birthday in January. She tried in early December to make an appointment for renewal and the earliest was in April so she had no ID for three months. The DMV was over run with illegals and they went to the head of the line.

Hyphenated American said...

""A lawsuit filed against Alabama in early December 2015 cites the example of a high schooler who can’t vote because she lacks a driver’s license. According to the suit, she needs to get a state issued voter ID at the DMV, but the one nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip."

It looks like she lives in a desert. Well, how does she get food? How does her parents go to work? How did the people who teach her got their IDs? How did the liberal activists find her? Did she come to testify in court? How did she get there? What's her name? Is there any public transportation in the place she lives? Has she ever left this place?

Can you provide these details?

Hyphenated American said...

"Voter ID laws do what they were intended to do and suppress minority turnout enough to swing the election."

Opponents of Voter ID laws clearly are intending to allow more voter disenfranchisement through voter fraud.

dstori said...

Puffington Host: Democrat voter totals down 37% in states with voter I.D., down 13% in states without.
What does that say about voter fraud!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/voter-id-laws-democratic-turnout_us_56d8c5bae4b0000de403f238?section=politics

wildswan said...

You can't access medical care without a government photo ID if you are poor or old and on Medicare /Medicaid . There are no stories about people being unable to get Medicare/Medicaid because they can't get photo ID. That same photo ID used to see a doctor can be used for voting. The whole issue is phony.

Medicaid
"Effective July 1, 2006, individuals who declare on a Medicaid application that they are United States citizens must provide proof of citizenship and identity.
Individuals who are already enrolled in Medicaid must provide this documentation at the time of their next Medicaid renewal.

Prove identity:
"You can use any of the following to verify who you are:

 Your picture on your current State driver’s license or State ID card
 Your picture on your school ID card
 A U.S. Military ID card
 A Federal, State or Local government ID card with your picture or identifying information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, color of eyes, and address"

Medicare/Medicaid
And since 2012 in order to see a doctor if you are on Medicare you have to show a government picture ID each time - this is an HHS regulation passed under Obama in 2012.

Dr Weevil said...

There have been quite a few cases of proven voter fraud in Wisconsin in recent years. So far as I have been able to find, all the fraud is on behalf of Democratic candidates. Here is an example from 2010. Best part is the last paragraph:
"Clancy received a 10-month prison term for his crime. Clancy’s sentence will begin when he completes another sentence he is currently serving for armed robbery."
Here's another not-quite-proven-but-still-damning case I remember reading about at the time: "long-time Democratic donor from New York" Connie Milstein was accused of bribing homeless people in Milwaukee with packs of cigarettes to vote for Gore in 2000. Although never indicted, she "agreed to pay $5,000 in a civil forfeiture case, a legal term that admitted no guilt and closed the case" (link).
Still, some people can't conceive of any reason other than racial prejudice why Republicans might worry about voter fraud. Some people are . . . I'll stop now, since it's Holy Thursday.

Qwinn said...

Even though I think the claim that the laws are intended to depress *legal* minority voting is bullshit, I would be surprised if a review of turnout following the enactment of such laws didn't look like it had that effect. Of *course* Democrats would and do commit voter fraud via the registrations of minority voters, so they can scream "racism" at any challenge to those votes. If they stuffed the ballot box with votes from dead white people voting Democrat, what could they say about it when it was discovered?

Most hilarious is the notion that there isn't any significant voter fraud when we have minority districts in Philly and other blue cities where turnout is 110% of the entire voting age population. Seems legit! But if anyone tries to figure out how that could *possibly* happen, Racism!

wildswan said...

If you have unpurged voter lists as we do in Wisconsin then it becomes impossible to have 90 or 95 % of the registered voters in a precinct vote in an election. This is because many of those voters have moved and yet they are still on the unpurged list. In the precincts with many renters in far downtown Milwaukee studies by Wisconsin professors have shown that turnover of rental apartments is as high as 60 % in five years. These professors were trying to show why Photo ID is a burden. What they proved was massive voter fraud because in the same precincts where they showed 60 % turnover, (precincts with unpurged voter lists like all precincts in Milwaukee) the election lists show 90 or 95% turn out of registered voters.

Perhaps I'm wrong about this - if so someone please show me how because it's on my mind at election time.

I argue
100 registered voters
Five years later 60 have moved and say they are replaced by 60 new registered voters
then
160 registered voters
Say all those living in the precinct and registered vote
100 real voters
160 registered voters

Percentage of "registered voters on unpurged voting list" who voted
60%

To me this says voter fraud in certain precincts with many renters, unpurged voting lists and, allegedly, 90% turnout of registered voters. Maybe Mitt Romney won. Of course it's laughable to expect our election commissioner to do anything - he's a Democrat.

MayBee said...

Nyamujal- would you vote illegally if you thought it was the difference between being deported or continuing to live here? What would stop you?
Would you vote a few extra times if you thought it was the difference between losing your public pension, and your union PAC encouraged it? What would stop you?
If you were a person who got paid to do things like protest for causes, and the same people offered to pay you to vote, would you do it? What would stop you?

What do you think would stop people from voting illegally if there were almost no way to get caught? How do you catch people if no id is required?

n.n said...

Even second and third-world nations take precautionary steps to mitigate disenfranchisement of their citizens. And with a multi-trillion dollar welfare system, there is no legitimate excuse for why any American citizen cannot provide positive identification.

Fen said...

" If they don't have the required papers, they must pay $22 for a copy of their birth certificate."

So I have 2 years between elections to scrape together $22. That's less than $1 a month.

MadisonMan said...

"So, how common is voter fraud in Wisconsin? I'm sure the pro-voter ID side, which includes a lot of people commenting here, have some numbers."

So, how common is voter disenfranchisement in Wisconsin? I'm sure the anti-voter ID side, which includes several people commenting here, have some numbers.

Given that the new law was passed because of (cough) rampant voter fraud (cough), I think the burden of proof would've been on the bill sponsors, so they probably included some. I'm sure anyone could find it.

Alternatively, this is just one more unnecessary law. Wisconsin is really very full of them.

A free ID card is available under Wisconsin law to anyone who:
- will be at least 18 years of age on the date of the next election and;
- requests an ID card for the purpose of voting.

There's actually one other step there that you're missing that can be a fairly high hurdle.

Fen said...

"...nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip."

Previous generations would have walked 40 miles be able to vote. 5-6 hours at a decent pace. They would have made a day of it, if necessary. Maybe even turned it into a parade. If you can't get off your ass within a 2 year window and make some effort, perhaps its best you not be able to vote.

Curious George said...

"MadisonMan said...

A free ID card is available under Wisconsin law to anyone who:
- will be at least 18 years of age on the date of the next election and;
- requests an ID card for the purpose of voting.

There's actually one other step there that you're missing that can be a fairly high hurdle."

Which is?

damikesc said...

Given that the new law was passed because of (cough) rampant voter fraud (cough), I think the burden of proof would've been on the bill sponsors, so they probably included some. I'm sure anyone could find it.

That's like saying we should abolish speed limits because nobody speeds...and then do away with radar guns and highway patrol.

It's amazing that not accepting proof of a crime makes evidence of a crime difficult.

And when did anybody say it was rampant? Should we not have rape laws because it is not a rampant issue also?

A free ID card is available under Wisconsin law to anyone who:
- will be at least 18 years of age on the date of the next election and;
- requests an ID card for the purpose of voting.

There's actually one other step there that you're missing that can be a fairly high hurdle.


I'll agree with George. Where is the high hurdle? The age? That you are getting this free ID for voting?

Curious George said...

"MadisonMan said...
Given that the new law was passed because of (cough) rampant voter fraud (cough), I think the burden of proof would've been on the bill sponsors, so they probably included some. I'm sure anyone could find it."

This is bullshit. It wasn't passed because of rampant voter fraud.

ALP said...

"...nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip."

Not a single progressive activist in the area to drive her 20 miles? Really?

I used to ride my bike to work - 24.5 miles round trip. No bicycles in AZ?

ALP said...

"...nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip."


I'd bet if there was a free Justin Bieber concert 20 miles away, she'd find a way to get there..

TreeJoe said...

....When you wake up one day and you find yourself advocating for online voting with no requirement to confirm personal identity....

....and you are not living in venezuela...

....you might be a totalitarian-in-training.

holdfast said...

There's actually one other step there that you're missing that can be a fairly high hurdle.

Being an actual, living human being?

SGT Ted said...

...nearest to her is only open one day per month and there’s no public transportation to another DMV 40 miles away roundtrip.

What, does she live in a fucking cave, feeding herself with trapped rabbits and foraged nuts and berries in between wheat harvests, making her own bread, while beating her cloths on rocks to clean them, since there's NO ONE with a car to go buy groceries or run errands in town?

Quit being so gullible over such obvious bullshit claims of inability to get an ID.

gadfly said...

In this day and age, you cannot get pain-killer, buy a beer, see a doctor, enroll in a class or cash a check without an acceptable ID. What makes voting any different?

People without IDs are living on society's edge by choice - illegals, criminals and homeless come to mind.

CWJ said...

TreeJoe,

Your comment made me think of internet polls. It's our future. Voting will be on our facebook pages, right after the link to "If you were a tree, what name would you be? Take this quiz to find out" Of course, in your case, you know that already.

Mr. Fabulous said...

The normally astute Althouse crowd is missing the answer to MadisonMan's implied question: "There's actually one other step there that you're missing that can be a fairly high hurdle."

Note that this is for a free VOTER ID in Wisconsin, and MadisonMan listed 2 of the qualifications needed by that law to get the free VOTER ID. It's not hard to infer that the law is written so that you also actually have to be a US citizen and a Wisconsin resident, and document that, in order to get the free voter ID. That would be a big hurdle for some.

Is that what you were referring to, MadisonMan?

Gahrie said...

What happens in that scenario?

It goes to Congress, which has happened at least twice in the past.

In 1800, a four way race ended up in a two way tie at the top...Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. After 36 votes in the House of Representatives, Jefferson won. (close call there)

In 1824 there was another four way contest. All four were Democratic-Republicans, the only viable party at the time. The Democratic-Republicans would disintegrate because of this, and the modern Democratic Party and Whig Party were born. Andrew Jackson won the popular vote, and had the most electoral votes. John Q. Adams was in second. Henry Clay was in fourth, and so was eliminated from consideration. However, Clay was still Speaker of the House, and so was in charge of the proceedings. Clay hated Jackson, and was able to swing enough votes to Adams to give him the victory. Clay was immediately appointed the Secretary of State. The previous four Secretaries of State had all gone on to be elected president.

Imagine if something like this happened today?

1876 is even more illustrative. Samuel Tilden (D) ran against Rutherford Hayes (R). Tilden received 184 electoral votes and the majority of the popular vote. Hayes received 165 electoral votes. However there were twenty contested electoral votes spread among four states. The Democrats offered a deal to the Republicans....end reconstruction and remove the federal troops from the former Confederacy, and those votes would be awarded to Hayes. So, in a Faustian bargain, the Republicans got the presidency, and the Democrats regained control of the South, only to impose Jim Crow and other forms of discrimination.

mikee said...

I, for one, prefer to use my Texas Concealed Handgun License when voting here in the Lone Star State. Because the little old ladies at the precinct where I vote usually have one, too.

paminwi said...

I am a poll worker in Wisconsin and know what is needed. To REGISTER to vote you need to register with your current address and have various documents with your CURRENT address on them to prove you are voting in your correct ward.

To vote-because you are already registered you need to have a picture ID. This ID DOES NOT have to have your current address on it as long as It is unexpired or expires after 11/4/2014. There are many picture IDs that are acceptable. DL being one of many. College students have to have one additional piece of documentation to use their university picture ID and that is either a statement of current semester tuition or a university issued bus pass. (Bus passes are only issued to currently registered students). This extra step is to insure that the picture ID issued by the university is a current one and not one issued years ago. You may also use a US passport,various military IDs (at last count about 13 different kinds) tribal IDs, naturalization certificate, and on and on.

Our main goal as a poll worker is to verify that your picture on your ID looks like the person standing in front of us wanting to vote.
Remember, this is only because you have already registered to vote in which more pieces of documentation were needed to verify who you are.

I hope this helps people understand Voter ID in Wisconsin.

Bob Loblaw said...

The purpose of the ID laws seems to be to target certain groups and not to eliminate voter fraud which is virtually non-existent.

That's quite an assertion. Do you have any reason to think it's true?

Fritz said...

Massive Non-Citizen Voting Uncovered in Maryland: https://pjmedia.com/blog/massive-non-citizen-voting-uncovered-in-maryland/

Either people are lying about being citizens to vote, or lying about being illegals to avoid jury duty. People being people, it's probably both.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

That's how Republicans roll. Get elected, enact unpopular changes that your contributors paid you to do, and then find ways to stop the people from voting you out. Big voter turn-outs favor Democrats. Republicans can only win by cheating and making voting a more difficult process.

Bob Loblaw said...

R&B, I have no doubt Democrats do better when illegals and felons vote.