Why We Need Photo ID To Vote

Written By:  Andrew Eide

Many people, mostly Liberals and Democrats, want people to be able to vote in elections without having to show a photo ID to prove they are who they claim they are in order to vote.

Here in the State of Georgia when you register to vote you have to include your Georgia Drivers License number as part of the registration process. When you show up to vote you have to show the poll workers your Georgia Drivers License. They scan the Georgia Drivers License, as it has a bar code on it, and their system, which is connected to both the State of Georgia Secretary of State’s Voter Registration system, and the Georgia Department of Driver Services, compares the information scanned from your Georgia Drivers License against the voter registration information at both the Secretary of State’s office and in our case the Gwinnett County Registrar of Voters. If all information matches you are allowed to vote. If not you can ask for a Provisional Ballot and if after they can verify your information your votes from your Provisional Ballot will be counted.

Liberals and Democrats use the stupid excuse that requiring a Photo ID to vote discriminates against Blacks. This is a worn-out stupid racially-biased argument. Most States provide FREE photo ID at the Department of Motor Vehicles to those who can show they are truly poor and cannot afford $10 for a photo ID from the State.

However these same people who claim they, and Blacks, cannot afford $10 to purchase a State issued Photo ID at the DMV are the same people who can, though, afford $100 for a pair of sneakers, $500 for a cell phone, and several hundreds of dollars for clothing. It has nothing to do with discrimination or the ability to pay for a Photo ID. Is comes down to how they prioritize their spending.

Without Voter ID in place anyone can walk up, state their name, and vote without ever having to prove they are who they claim they are. Here is why I have a problem with this.

Let’s say your name is Randy Johnson and you live at 123 Smith Street in Atlanta, Georgia. What is your neighbor is mad at you for some reason. He walks into the polling place early in the morning and he states “My name is Randy Johnson and I live at 123 Smith Street in Atlanta, Georgia.” The voting people give him a ballot and he votes in your name. All he has to do is sign a sheet stating the information he gave was truthful under penalty of Perjury. Well, gee, how can they find this man and convict him of fraud when they don’t even know who he is?

If you are an activist against requiring Voter ID to prove who you are when you vote how would you feel if you walk into the polling place only to be told you are not allowed to vote as you already voted earlier in the day. Even though you protest you will only be allowed to cast a Provisional Ballot until the investigation on your original Ballot is completed which could take weeks or months. Your Provisional Ballot may never be counted if they cannot prove someone faked being you to vote in your name.

Remember if your State or polling place required a Photo ID to prove who the person is before they vote then nobody...nobody...NOBODY...can walk up and state your name and address and vote as you because if they cannot provide a Photo ID they will be turned away from the polling place and denied an opportunity to cast a vote.

Voter ID protects YOU my friend. It does NOT discriminate against anyone.