Photo ID to Drink or Shop, But Not to Vote

Why doesn't Illinois law require voters to show photo ID at the polls?

How many people are offended by the need to show photo ID to get an alcoholic drink, or to verify identity when shopping with a credit card or cashing a check?  It's a pretty routine requirement of any adult in America.  We don't all need passports as a national ID for travel outside of the country, because we don't all travel.  There are processes in every state to obtain a photo ID of some sort to verify your identify even if you don't drive.

There was a very interesting Rasmussen poll in June 2011 (as follow-up to similar polls back to 2006) about voter photo ID.  Several states have passed laws to require photo ID at polls.  Illinois is not among them.

75% Support Showing Photo ID at the Polls

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/june_2011/75_support_showing_photo_id_at_the_polls

It shows 85% support among Republicans, and 77% among independents.

Only 63% of Democrats support it, which seems odd, since support is otherwise high across all demographic groups of voters.

The interesting distinction, however, is the result among the "political class".

They are pretty evenly divided on the issue.  Once again, they're out of touch with voters.

Here's another startling conclusion, at the end of the article:

"Just 54% of voters now think American elections are fair. Fifty-three percent (53%) feel most members of Congress get reelected because election rules are rigged to benefit incumbents. Only 17% believe most congressmen get reelected because of the good job they do representing their constituents."

As outlined in my prior post, "When Politicians Pick Their Voters", the gerrymandering of legislative districts in Illinois certainly justifies such skepticism among voters here.  Their votes are being manipulated by drawing districts to favor specific party candidates.  The proposed changes to Congressional districts in Illinois are an atrocious example.

You can find more background about that map, such as your new district, at

http://barringtontea.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-politicians-pick-their

In short, the General Assembly just voted to reverse the outcome of the 2010 election of 5 new Republican members of Congress from Illinois by redrawing many district in the state to clearly favor Democratic candidates in 2012 and future elections.  Regardless of party affiliation, every voter in Illinois should be outraged by such manipulation of election results by the elected officials in Springfield who did this, and work hard to vote them out of office.   Even if it favors your preferred party now, it's political tyranny and disrespects the value of your vote.  You're just a statistic for them to manipulate now.

Texas just passed a photo Voter ID law in May, SB14.  Here's Gov. Rick Perry's comments on signing it.

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/16197/

Reuters had a story on it, but other media hasn't paid much attention to this issue.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/27/us-voter-id-texas-idUSTRE74Q76Q20110527 

Meanwhile, here in Illinois, has anybody even seriously attempted to require photo ID to limit election fraud?

As mentioned in the Reuters story, many other states already have such laws now, including Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and others.

Do you notice anything in common among those states?  Republican leaders there have made this issue a priority.

Will anybody in Illinois stand up for the integrity of our votes?

This should be a non-partisan issue, with strong and widespread public support.  It is not acceptable that so many Americans have good reason to doubt the integrity of our election process.   It is shameful that we have implemented better anti-fraud protections for defending the integrity of elections in Iraq or Afghanistan than here in Illinois, even using such low-tech solutions as ink on thumbs.

When the General Assembly considers new legislation in January 2012, a photo ID law for voting should be a priority so that the November 2012 election is more secure.  If not, we need to vote out the politicians  who continue to manipulate election results for their own advantage, rather than respect the voters of Illinois.

If we have to show photo ID to any bartender, store clerk, or bank teller on demand for any transaction of high value, why is our vote so worthless that no ID is ever required?