Why Is Voter ID Important to Free and Fair Elections?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the right to vote and voter suppression (or lack thereof). Most Americans aged 18 years and over have the right to vote unless they are felons. Race, age, sex, gender identity, religion, or any other category cannot stop this right. One voter should equal one vote.

After the problems of the 2020 presidential election, the State of Georgia reworked their voting laws – all states do their own thing on the laws. Democrats were up in arms at the changes. President Joe Biden condemned the changes and called them “Jim Crow 2.0.” Stacy Abrams and other Democrats claimed that there would be “voter suppression” and “election subversion” in Georgia.

Neither voter suppression nor election subversion seems to be the case. Fred Lucas at The Daily Signal reported that “as of Thursday morning, 1.05 million early in-person voters had shown up at the polls for Georgia’s Senate runoff. The pace ‘far exceeds the number of voters who cast ballots in the runoff of 2018 and 2016,’ according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.” 

You may ask what was so bad about Georgia’s new law(s). I checked the website of the Georgia Secretary of State and found this statement: “Georgia law requires photo identification when voting, either in person or absentee. It’s the way your county ensures it’s you casting your ballot and not someone who isn’t eligible to vote.” 

You may also ask what type of identification is acceptable for in-person voting. There are seven different types of identification that are acceptable: (1) Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID card issued by your county registrar’s office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services; (2) A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired; (3) Student ID from a Georgia public College or University; (4) Valid employee photo ID from any branch department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state; (5) Valid U.S. passport ID; (6) Valid U.S. military photo ID containing a photograph of the voter, and (7) Valid tribal photo ID containing a photograph of the voter.

If requesting an absentee ballot, a voter “must include the number from your driver’s license.” Any voter without a driver’s license could “include the number from your state-issued identification card.” Voters without driver’s license or state-issued identification, could submit a photocopy of any of the items listed in the above paragraph OR current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document.

Why Biden, Abrams, or any other Democrat disliked these photo ID requirements is as much your guess as mine. They seem to me to be quite lenient – far more lenient than I believe is necessary. What American does not have a photo ID card? They are needed at medical offices, Social Security offices, airlines, banks, schools, and many other places. I like the idea that Georgia requires ID for every voter whether voting absentee or in person.

I suggest that Democrats did not want photo ID laws in Georgia because personal identification hinders voter fraud. It is difficult to claim that dead people are voting if the voter has to prove their identification!