The sign on the door of the convenience store reads: “We Card.” It means that if you appear to be young, you must produce a photo ID proving you are old enough to legally purchase tobacco or alcoholic beverages. If the store is caught selling the substances to underage customers, they can be fined.
When I purchase Claritin over the counter at a drug store, I must produce a photo ID. To use any facility on a military base or at the VA Clinic, I must show a photo ID. Most businesses that accept checks for payment require photo IDs. Sometimes they are requested when a credit card is used. Passports contain photographs of the holder of the passport. The photograph is necessary to prove that the holder is the individual whose name appears on the passport.
If you are stopped by the Highway Patrol the first thing they ask for is your driver’s license with your photo. You must have a permit with your photo, issued by the state in order to carry a concealed weapon.
Showing a driver’s license or other photo ID is so routine that law-abiding citizens respond without giving it a second thought. So why would The Obama Administration and groups representing Democrat political interests suddenly use the power of the federal government to avoid voters being required to produce a photo ID in order to vote?
South Carolina has met all the objections to this state’s Voter ID Law that have been raised, but to no avail. Some voters don’t have a driver’s license. The state created a free ID that meets the requirement. Some voters don’t have transportation to go to the DMV to get the free photo ID card. Call a published number and the state will transport you from your home or workplace to the DMV and return you with your card at your convenience without charge.
Why do states pass laws requiring voters to produce a driver’s license or other forms of photo identification before being allowed to cast a ballot in a state supervised election?
The purpose of the photo ID is to ensure fair elections by giving poll workers a means of determining voters are who they say they are. This will prevent a common means of voter fraud at the precinct level.
Since the only reason for requiring a photo ID to vote is to prevent voter fraud by someone who wishes to use the identity of someone else, it is reasonable to assume that there is only one reason for the opposition.
There were numerous cases of voter fraud during the presidential primary and general election four years ago. In one instance students from one state were campaigning in another state and voted in both states. In South Carolina, it is possible for an individual from New York who has relatives or friends living in several South Carolina counties to use the friend’s addresses and mail in registration forms with a name and the local addresses. Voter Registration cards will be mailed to that address. The individual can visit South Carolina after absentee voting begins, go from county to county absentee voting places and cast ballots. No one routinely checks voting records between county’s or between states. The requirement to show a photo ID or driver’s license would deter and virtually prevent this type voter fraud and ensure fair elections.
Supporters of the current administration are desperate to continue the big-government socialist agenda and win the November 2012 General Election by whatever means necessary. Election fraud is one option. It has happened frequently in Chicago and allegedly in Texas when Lyndon Johnson was a local candidate. The same excuses for fraud were made in those days as are made today. In some political circles election fraud was routine.
One unproven story repeated frequently was that Lyndon, facing a tight election challenge, and an aide were copying names from tombstones in a Texas cemetery. One of the names on a stone was weather worn and barely legible. The aide reminded Lyndon that they were late for an event and had enough names already to win the election. Lyndon bristled: “Be fair! This man has as much right to vote in this election as any of the others.”