Here we go again. My question is this: Is your social security card not enough of an ID to allow you to cast a ballot, especially when there are lists of registered voters? You show your social security card to the registrar, he/she looks for your number in a computer-generated data base printout or directly on a computer and Viola! Your number is flagged, you enter a ballot booth, you vote, a receipt comes out and you hand it to the poll officer who records the number in its proper place. Simple as that. What's the problem? There are just too many ways a person can prove they are who they are. People lose things all the time, including IDs and social security cards. The good news is that most people do know their social security number just like they know their telephone number. So perhaps its not an ID card that should be required but a photo on file at the social security office database. The real issue here is that whatever is decided cannot be decided or implemented for this election. I know it, you know it and 'they' know it. There just isn't enough time for a smooth implementation. If they were to try and enforce it, call in the ACLU because it just is unconstitutional.
On the flip side, given enough time to ascertain the ID (of which one should not have to pay for since it is government mandated), what is the issue? If you are here legally getting an ID should not be a problem. After all, in some states it is illegal for someone over the age of 18 to not have a valid state ID. If nothing else, you should carry a valid ID at all times if only for your own peace of mind. After all, with racial profiling and such why give the police an excuse to harass you or take you in simply because you can not identify yourself? In most states and cities there are organizations that help poverty level persons acquire such things as birth certificates, state ID's etc. There really are. One just has to have the motivation to acquire these things as a priority. I have had a valid photo ID since I was sixteen years old.. Even people coming out of prisons come out with their photo ID and a sheet with listings of organizations in the city where they are being released, that can help them get the required basics to start their life. Some take advantage, some don't. It's all about priorities.
I have even offered to take people down to the Department of Transportation and give them the 16.00 they needed to get their state ID. What I found was that most don't even have their birth certificates, neither did their mothers. Now that is a problem. It costs 35.00 to get a copy. In neighborhoods where most are on some kind of state or federal assistance or nothing at all, there needs to be some kind of local government intervention. Having worked in Social Services in California, I know that the County can easily get birth certificates by simply using the interoffice mail system. I have also witnessed benefits being forfeited because of a lack of ID. Therefore one can conclude that its not the ID itself that is a problem but everything that one must do in order to obtain it: gathering the documents, transportation, and the fee. But guess what? It is do-able! A valid photo ID is an integral part of society. I have even seen people lose out on jobs because they didn't have a current valid ID. One lady had warrants for unpaid tickets. She was too scared to go and take care of them which was fine until she lost her ID at a club. Six months later she lost her job and found she couldn't get hired for another without her ID. The stories go on and on. Now people are finding themselves in a catch-22. It is complicated yet at the same time it is about shouldering responsibility. We have to start somewhere for this does not just affect voting it affects one's livelihood. You can't get a job without a valid ID. Bottom line.
This is not the first time in our country's history where obstacles have been thrust upon us as a race of people, especially when it comes to election time. Just read about the country's voting history and black people in the late 1800s-1960. This is nothing new. Nor will it stop here. What needs to be done as a community is to get busy and make sure that each person who wants to stand up and be counted--IS! Rally to make sure they get their ID. This situation that has presented itself caught us off guard yet taught us an important lesson. We need to take care of business!
On the flip side, given enough time to ascertain the ID (of which one should not have to pay for since it is government mandated), what is the issue? If you are here legally getting an ID should not be a problem. After all, in some states it is illegal for someone over the age of 18 to not have a valid state ID. If nothing else, you should carry a valid ID at all times if only for your own peace of mind. After all, with racial profiling and such why give the police an excuse to harass you or take you in simply because you can not identify yourself? In most states and cities there are organizations that help poverty level persons acquire such things as birth certificates, state ID's etc. There really are. One just has to have the motivation to acquire these things as a priority. I have had a valid photo ID since I was sixteen years old.. Even people coming out of prisons come out with their photo ID and a sheet with listings of organizations in the city where they are being released, that can help them get the required basics to start their life. Some take advantage, some don't. It's all about priorities.
I have even offered to take people down to the Department of Transportation and give them the 16.00 they needed to get their state ID. What I found was that most don't even have their birth certificates, neither did their mothers. Now that is a problem. It costs 35.00 to get a copy. In neighborhoods where most are on some kind of state or federal assistance or nothing at all, there needs to be some kind of local government intervention. Having worked in Social Services in California, I know that the County can easily get birth certificates by simply using the interoffice mail system. I have also witnessed benefits being forfeited because of a lack of ID. Therefore one can conclude that its not the ID itself that is a problem but everything that one must do in order to obtain it: gathering the documents, transportation, and the fee. But guess what? It is do-able! A valid photo ID is an integral part of society. I have even seen people lose out on jobs because they didn't have a current valid ID. One lady had warrants for unpaid tickets. She was too scared to go and take care of them which was fine until she lost her ID at a club. Six months later she lost her job and found she couldn't get hired for another without her ID. The stories go on and on. Now people are finding themselves in a catch-22. It is complicated yet at the same time it is about shouldering responsibility. We have to start somewhere for this does not just affect voting it affects one's livelihood. You can't get a job without a valid ID. Bottom line.
This is not the first time in our country's history where obstacles have been thrust upon us as a race of people, especially when it comes to election time. Just read about the country's voting history and black people in the late 1800s-1960. This is nothing new. Nor will it stop here. What needs to be done as a community is to get busy and make sure that each person who wants to stand up and be counted--IS! Rally to make sure they get their ID. This situation that has presented itself caught us off guard yet taught us an important lesson. We need to take care of business!
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