This will probably never happen again, but here in Badgerland, I would like to commend the Hoosiers. While we clearly beat them in all things Big Ten, Indiana has very few things that Wisconsin doesn’t. Legislation requiring a photo ID to vote is one of the things that our great state is missing.
Voter ID is an excellent idea, already employed by numerous states in the U.S. Essentially, voter ID laws say that if you’re going to vote in the United States, you should be able to prove you are who you say you are. Really, what’s wrong with that? When I showed up to the polls to vote this past spring, the lady working the table asked me for my name and handed me my ballot. I have a feeling I could have said my name was Suchita Shah and cast a vote. With failsafe voter security like that, why wouldn’t someone try to vote more than once?
Voter ID has long been a splitting issue between liberals and conservatives, but it seems like those days are coming to an end. Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the decision, is widely known to be on the liberal side of the court, even though he was appointed by a Republican. In the majority opinion, Mr. Stevens said that there was not “any concrete evidence of the burden imposed on voters who now lack photo identification” and that the risk of voter fraud is real. According to the opinion, there is “no question about the legitimacy or importance of the state’s interest in counting only the votes of eligible voters.” Now that both liberals and conservatives are finally on the right side of the aisle — at least on one issue — maybe we can finally get something done.
Despite what your Democratic friends tell you, there is nothing unconstitutional about voter ID legislation, as proven by the Supreme Court’s decision just this week. Indiana’s law said in order to cast a vote in the state, one had to present a photo ID at the polls. In order to get this photo ID, each person needed to prove citizenship via government certified documentation, like a birth certificate or a passport. This shouldn’t be a big deal, seeing as every person properly born in the U.S. has a legitimate form of documentation necessary for his or her ID card. According to Indiana law, if you cannot afford the ID card necessary to vote, one would be provided for you, free of charge. That eradicates the “the government won’t let me vote because I’m poor” argument that often rears its ugly head.
The other argument I’ve heard against voter ID legislation is that it’s discriminatory in that certain people can’t get the cards. This point, I will concede. There are certain people who would not be able to obtain voter ID cards because of their citizenship status. Non-citizens (aka: illegal aliens) would not be able to get the ID cards and there is no problem, whatsoever, with that. The language of the U.S. Constitution reads, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied…” Please note the use of the word citizen: all citizens may vote, not just anyone who happens to be in this country on an election day.
Living in the liberal cesspool that we do, I’m not surprised we don’t have a voter ID law — our “sanctuary city” where “no person is illegal” would never allow it — all at the risk of cheapening your vote. It is an honor and a privilege to be an American citizen. Part of that privilege is the right to vote. Voting is a right you earn with citizenship and get taken away with a felony. It does not belong to everyone. Voter ID would only increase security in our election booths and make sure that only those people who are supposed to be voting are doing so. Having a problem with voter ID is having a problem upholding the law.
Sara Mikolajczak ([email protected]) is the chair of UW-Madison College Republicans.
