Hoist with their own petard: Texas voter ID law

So I voted in Virginia's election today. Had to show my voter id. Horrors! Don't they know that means people are being disenfranchised?

To be fair, my Virginia voter ID was issued to me free of cost (well, free of direct cost anyway) and came in the mail.

Like how gerrymandering is a state problem?

Gotta work every possible day that I'm called to vs. gotta vote once every few years... yeah, the phone is an essential.

I'm running last year's model Blackberry because after a few years of paying my bill on time, they upgraded me for free. The old one was about six years old and I'd gotten that second hand.

Most of my friends got their phone for signing a contract as well

I don't recall having to provide ID for either the phone or my internet hookup the last time that was in my name.

And let me guess: You got your photo ID from the DMV to go on the license you need to drive a car. And when they took your photo, you presented your birth certificate as proof of identity.

Because you were born in a hospital, after 1950, in a state that requires birth certificates.

So you own a car and you have a birth certificate, two "absolutes" that do not apply to every American.

For a passport you must submit one of the following:

Primary Evidence of U.S. Citizenship (One of the following):
Previously issued, undamaged U.S. Passport
Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state*
Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth Naturalization Certificate
Certificate of Citizenship

and present one of these.

Primary Identification (One of the following):
Current, undamaged U.S. passport
Recently issued Naturalization Certificate
Valid Driver's License
Current Government ID (city, state or federal)
Current Military ID (military and dependents)

If you can not do this then:

you must submit as much secondary identification as possible.
A Combination of Identifying Documents

Present a combination of documents that can be used to verify your personal identity. These documents are not acceptable as secondary identification when presented alone.

Example: Social Security Card + Credit Card + Employee ID + Library Card

An Identifying Witness

An identifying witness is a person who can swear to your identity. He or she must:

• Be present at the time of application
• Have known you for at least 2 years
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Have valid ID
• Fill out Form DS-71: Affidavit of Identifying Witness in the presence of a Passport Agent

Seems to me if you are legal to vote you can indeed get an ID with your picture on it, even if you do not have a birth certificate.

And as I said up thread the thing in Texas about maiden names is no longer in use, it is a matter of changing your DL. Sucks this time but know better for next time and change it. If you don't, to fucking bad.

Everybody should have some sort of ID, preferably with a picture on it. Getting a passport is annoying to be sure but it is easier the next time and useful.

And if you were born poor in the South prior to 1950, of course you have a passport.

Getting a passport is fun...

/sarcasm

So voter ID laws should all be scrapped. Shouldn't even consider a workaround for dealing with these small number of special cases.

See, any of that is enough to vote here.
Passport will cost nearly $150 by the time you get the proper photo and processing.

Now you're getting it!

And this is why I don't want to engage with you any more. I said nothing, nothing about drivers licenses or birth certificates. I went to the polls, showed my state-issued voter registration, and voted. Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?

We've got the little old ladies with the big book of names.
Seems to work.

This thread is petarded.

Because now you're pulling a Volpone.

Does your voter ID have a photo? No? Then you live in a state that doesn't require a photo ID.

Yes? Then what documentation did you have to produce in order to get that photo ID?

You sure as hell make absolutely, completely, definitely sure that the workaround is in place before the election starts. If you're not interested in doing that, don't expect anyone to believe you're interested in preventing fraud.

So State Senator Wendy Davis, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and Speaker of the House Jim Wright can't function in society. Ok. Are you sure that means it is ok to take away their right to vote?

Just the opposite. If you're going to be one of those states that insists on a photo ID, then you find a way to guarantee that every voter in your state has that ID.

Otherwise, what you're accomplishing is this: You're not only preventing those people from voting, but you're making the wait times at the polls longer because there are people who have them and will forget them, and your poll watchers spend half their time saying "I'm sorry, sir. You're going to have to go home and get it and then start at the end of the line."

IOW, you're turning the polling place into the DMV.

The people who don't have a photo ID will be turned away. The people who left it at home will be turned away and a good proportion of them will figure "Fuck it" and not bother coming back. And the people who have their ID with them will have longer and longer waits.

Here's a question: Do the states that require a photo ID allow for mail-in voting - not just for absentee ballots, but for people who don't want to/can't get to the polling place? How does that work? Do you have to send a photocopy of your ID in with your ballot? Didn't think so.

Same here, just voted in the Boston mayoral election, gave my address, gave my name, received a ballot. After making my selections, I gave my address and name again, slid the ballot in to the machine, and got my sticker. No problems at all, nobody else tried to vote under my name.

Vote by mail FTW.

Really? You're sure about that? Got some data to back it up? DON'T WAIT FOR THE TRANSLATION, ANSWER THE QUESTION!!

Indeed. Have a form affidavit where people can swear, under penalty of perjury, to any one of an exhaustive list of sets of facts sufficient to establish voter eligibility. Allow but don't require submission of supporting documentation, like birth certificates, currently required to get ID. Require the state to issue ID for free immediately upon filing of the affidavit or after a 30 day delay if no supporting documentation is filed. Give the state a civil cause of action to deny or revoke the ID if the state can prove ineligibility by clear and convincing evidence.

If a state that insisted on photo ID for voting issued photo ID under such a policy then I'd believe that the purpose of the photo ID wasn't to restrict voting by eligible voters.

http://www.wordforge.net/index.php?...texas-voter-id-law.101997/page-3#post-2555629

Huh? Maybe you aren't clear on how it works, but if somebody else had tried to vote in my name it would be flagged when I came along. At that point, there are procedures for determining who was the fraudulent voter, but when no fraudulent vote has taken place, why bother with all the hoops?

I gave an option that didn't need a drivers license OR a birth certificate since it seemed so important to several here.

If you were born in the South you more than likely have a driver's license.

Just because I gave an answer doesn't mean you need to be snippy. It was pretty easy to get a license before about 10 years ago. And except the cost, a passport is pretty easy to get.

Seem familiar?

It is my right to drive but I have to show a little initiative in order to get my license. If you can't be bothered to go through the process to register and at this point that also means getting at least a state ID if not something more useful, you more than likely won't get off your ass and vote.

So why are we having this conversation again?

I was giving an example of what you could do if you did not have a birth certificate. That was the goal post at the time Garamet put it out there. I see she moved it to the South and not in the general area of age and the state not issuing Birth Certificates before a certain date.

Lanzman said (i belive) that his card was free. In Oklahoma an ID card is $10 bucks.

I'm sorry, if you want to vote do something to be able to vote. Get out of your house and go get a damn ID card. If somebody won't bother doing that I seriously doubt they will get off of their ass to go vote.

I'll ask you the question Lanzman can't seem to answer: What documentation did you bring with you to get your ID?

Since you mention passports, how would you get a passport if you were born in this country but did not have a birth certificate?

I mention the South because, to the best of my knowledge (please correct me if I'm wrong), those were the only states that did not issue birth certificates prior to 1950.

I honestly don't really remember. I think it was when I switched my driver's license from Maryland to Virginia? Might have had to show proof of address, like a utility bill.

In his post he said they sent it to him he did not even request it.

Did you miss this part:

I am fully aware that it is for a Passport without a birth certificate. Which is why I was saying this is one way of going about getting a Picture ID. Unless you are going to tell me that all southerners born before 1950 are to poor to purchase a Passport this is a legitimate way.

Question for you how did all those Southerners get a Driver License if they didn't have some proof of ID to get the DL?

My state only requires a $10 fee to pay for the card, plus you have to get up off your ass a go request one. But it can be gotten at any DMV. In Oklahoma at least you can go to any DMV to get your DL/ID card, you do not have to be within your city. So I can go across county lines to a DMV/tag agency that I know is not that busy and get it done.

Here are a few of the Oklahoma papers that will work for ID. There are several more here.

• • Signed Education documents
  • Pilots license
  • Gun permit
  • Voter ID card
  • Health insurance card
  • Marriage certificate
  • Degree papers
  • Military ID card
  They also take a finger print now every time to make sure you are who you say you are.

If you can get registered to vote I think in this day and age you can get a DL or ID card.

Yeah seriously......

Doesn't that violate the Human Operating System?

You gave a list of what's needed for a passport, I'm asking why isn't that same list good enough for voter identity? How is that changing the goalposts?

If the card is "free" or super cheap, then I guess it's reasonable to presume costs are being picked up by taxpayers whether they require this ID or not? (Or did I miss something and EVERYONE is going to have to show one to vote?)

I really gotta wonder what the point of adding another department, or worse, job for the DHS?