The Wall Street Journal-20080117-Obtuse- Perplexing Resistance to Voter ID
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Obtuse, Perplexing Resistance to Voter ID
John Fund's Jan. 9 op-ed "Voter-Fraud Showdown" makes a good case for voter identification and further casts doubt on the real motives of those opposed.
Unfortunately, voter fraud is in the realm of those crimes that are not enforced, for most practical purposes. An online search for specific examples of those actually convicted and punished for this felony turns up virtually no instances, other than a few cases where the offender was inadvertently ensnared during the prosecution of some other crime.
The New York Daily News story, in 2004, of 46,000 New York residents registered to vote in both New York and Florida, and the evidence cited of at least 400 to 1,000 having actually cast ballots in both states in the same election, seems to have resulted in no actual prosecutions. This despite the Florida secretary of state's request to the FBI for an investigation of this federal felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Only 12% of these dual-registered voters were Republicans, as would be expected given the 85% of New Yorkers identified as Democrats. In Florida, where the national election in 2000 was decided by 537 votes, this felonious fraud holds potential for major repercussions in governance and perceptions of election fairness.
The time has long been past where the need for a real national identity document is needed. Instead, the driver's license is used as a pseudo ID, and the Social Security number as a pseudo ID number. The requirement that all citizens obtain a passport would fulfill the need for a universal identification for air travel, voting and obtaining a driver's license. As a conservative, I remain perplexed at the resistance of so many conservatives to the obvious need for reliable citizen identification.
James W. Benefiel
Dunedin, Fla.
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Concern about the dead voting, impersonation of living voters, and absentee ballot fraud are legitimate concerns, but another is voting by non-citizens. Voter registration should be conditional on proof of citizenship because there is a pervasive concern that non-citizens have been registered and do vote.
Motor-voter registration drives of all comers, requiring no proof of citizenship, heightens that concern because they encourage non- citizens to sign up. By signing an affidavit of citizenship, non- citizens commit felony perjury. Proper registration should be a prerequisite to voting, and where there is a question about such registration the claimant should be allowed to vote and have his ballot sequestered until his status is verified.
Drivers' licenses are unsuitable as ID because they are designed as proof of identity, not citizenship. Indeed, a Texas driver's license will be issued based upon a foreign passport as proof of identity. Hardship in complying with a requirement to prove citizenship will be rare because most citizens already have the necessary documents, and such cases should be adjudicated by the courts. Permitting non- citizens to vote dilutes the votes of citizens, is indirect disenfranchisement and a violation of the 14th Amendment.
Anthony J. Adolph
Austin, Texas
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Not mentioned in Mr. Fund's commentary is that under current Indiana law there are two classes of voters. Those who show up at the polls must have a government-sanctioned photo ID; those who vote by absentee ballot do not. In the latter case, absentee ballots can be requested by voters without photo identification or, in cases of truly fraudulent practices, be delivered and picked up from voters by party workers (as recently alleged in a close election for mayor here in Muncie). Thus voters are not equally protected under the law.
The question is why did the Republican Legislature choose not to close the main source of voter fraud (voting by absentee ballot) in Indiana. A cynic would say that many busy Republican voters would have to make a choice relative to time allocation and would not as a consequence vote.
Thad Godish, Ph.D.
Ball State University
Muncie, Ind.
