In this day and age, it is nearly impossible to live in the United States without photo identification. Americans are required to show identification in order to board an airplane, open a bank account, obtain a credit card, rent a hotel room, apply for employment, purchase alcohol and more. Despite this societal norm, some still believe that voting without an ID is completely fine. Since ensuring fair elections and allowing all politicians an equal opportunity is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, allowing people to vote without requiring photo identification is bad public policy.
Using this logic, requiring photo identification to vote seems like common sense. It is unfortunate for democracy that the photo ID debate has turned extremely partisan over the years. In general, the Democratic Party is opposed to photo ID laws, while the Republican Party is in favor of the laws. These partisan preferences occur not just in Wisconsin, but all over the country.
Many of those who oppose voter ID laws claim that the problem is not widespread, and therefore the benefits would outweigh the costs. However, this is simply just not the case. Last June, the Journal Sentinel published an article that told the story of a Wisconsin man who committed 13 counts of illegal voter fraud. Even though the man was arrested in 2014, he had been voting illegally in every election since 2011.
We know the College Democrats argue that “enacting this voter ID law is disenfranchising minorities and college students,” as junior Autumn Linsmeier recently wrote in a Badger Herald column, but the argument that college students do not have access to the required identification is false, and here are three reasons why.
The first reason is because college students need to have a photo identification to get accepted into college. Both the SAT and the ACT require that everyone show a valid photo identification before being allowed to take either test. Virtually all colleges and universities require either an official SAT or ACT score to be submitted with an application before a student can be accepted into college. The University of Wisconsin is among them.
Some may argue that students may no longer have this photo ID or that it might be expired. This is definitely a possibility. There is no doubt that some people currently lack valid, current photo identification.
The good news is that if someone currently does not have an ID, they have plenty of time to obtain an ID before the election. The election is not until November. The requirement to display photo identification does not cause a financial burden on the voter as the state of Wisconsin will provide the identification at no charge to the voter.
Some may argue that UW students do not have access to the Department of Motor Vehicle services due to a lack of transportation. This argument does not make sense because all UW students are provided a “free” student bus pass. You can actually take public transportation to get to the DMV for a photo ID!
Additionally, UW will provide voting IDs to students at no charge. Students can obtain these at the Wiscard Office in Union South.
Voter fraud is not a regular occurrence, but it does happen. Having a voting process that does not include photo IDs is like trying to catch fish with a bunch of holes in your fishing net. Yes, it might cost you a bit of time and money to fix the net, but won’t the process be way more effective in the end?
Just like anything in life, change always brings resistance. However, there is not even much resistance for this law. According to a recent poll taken by Marquette University, 62 percent of likely voters are in favor of this voter ID law.
Without a doubt, the new Voter ID law will prove to maintain the integrity of our electoral process. Besides, if you were a fisherman, would you really listen to 38 percent of your friends that told you not to take the time to fix your net?
