By TEDDYE SNELL
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS
March 13, 2008 05:54 pm
—
Like it or not, if you want to make any kind of transaction these days - send money, open a bank account, cash a check - a photo ID is required.
And if the Oklahoma House of Representatives has its way, you may soon be required to produce photo ID to vote.
According to a report by the Associated Press, HB 2956 was approved Monday, 55-42, along party lines.
Many Democrats believe the measure could be unconstitutional, and would disenfranchise quite a few voters.
“I’m debating against a similar bill in the Senate [Tuesday],” said Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah. “We have data that shows it will take out 3 percent of Democratic voters in Oklahoma.”
Wilson indicated he hopes to kill the Senate bill, which would pave the way to do the same when the House bill is sent. Wilson believes there are many groups who could be affected by such a policy, particularly seniors.
“I can just see an elderly couple at the polls,” said Wilson. “One will have a driver’s license or other photo ID, and the other will not.”
While House Republicans argue the bill will restore voters’ faith in the process, Wilson believes it was never lost.
“There is no documentation that anyone has ever violated the trust,” said Wilson.
Northeastern State University political science graduate Michael Horn doesn’t believe the proposed bill violates the Constitution.
“The only restriction the Constitution places on voter qualification is that the right to vote shall not be denied because of race, color (15th Amendment), sex (19th Amendment), or age for those over 18 (26th Amendment),” wrote Horn in an e-mail. “The 26th Amendment makes it clear the persons over 18 cannot be denied the right to vote based on age, it does not say the cannot be denied for other reasons. It seems to me that these amendments do not grant the right to vote to anyone. Instead, they place guidelines on selecting ‘qualified voters.’”
Horn said the right to vote is denied to people under 18, convicted felons, and those who have not registered to vote. He questioned the purpose of the registration system if it did not require verification.
John Price, president of the Cherokee County Democratic Party, agrees with Wilson, saying the bill is an attempt to fix a non-existent problem.
“Has the public really lost faith in the voting process?” asked Price. “After the Florida debacle of 2000 and the possible irregularities in the Ohio count in 2004, much of the public may well have lost faith that their votes will be accurately and fairly counted. That’s the issue that needs more attention than it has been getting.”
According to the text of the bill, the following qualify as photo IDs for voting:
• Oklahoma driver license.
• Oklahoma identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety.
• An identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe.
• U.S. passport.
• Debit or credit card.
• Military, student, or public assistance identification.
Some are concerned that since a fee is required to obtain a driver’s license or state-issued photo ID, the bill would, in effect, impose a “poll tax.”
Horn said that’s “a bit of a stretch.”
“It is hard for me to imagine that a legal, law-abiding citizen who is registered to vote would not need a valid state ID for other reasons than voting,” said Horn. “It also seems the state’s obligation to ensure the integrity of its election process outweighs the inconvenience of paying $10 for a state issue ID card.”
Horn checked into state-issued ID cards, and found they did indeed cost $10, and are good for four years.
“So, we are talking about $2.50 a year,” he said. “It seems a small price to pay to ensure there is no voter fraud. This is where my common sense and my desire for limited government collide. I do not like the idea of a national ID card; it is a little too ‘Big Brother-ish’ for me.”
However, Horn doesn’t think it makes sense to have a registration requirement for voting and no means of verification, saying you need one to have the other.
“Maybe a good alternative would be to allow the voter registration card accompanied by a Social Security card as an alternate means of identification,” he said. “You get one when you register, and it’s free. You have to put either your Oklahoma state driver’s license number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number on the Oklahoma Voter Registration application, anyway.”
Price believes the bill has not been thoroughly considered.
“The March 2008 edition of the AARP Bulletin features a story about Bernice Todd, a Native American with cancer, who has lost her Medicaid coverage because she has not been able to prove her citizenship - in spite of the fact that her family roots have been deep in Oklahoma soil long before most of the rest of us, and despite the fact that Oklahoma has yet to uncover a single illegal immigrant on the Medicaid rolls,” said Price. “The unintended consequence of this bill will be the denial to some Oklahoma citizens of the precious right to vote.”
Local resident Olga Trammel has no problem with the bill, saying it should have always been that way.
“It should help keep everyone on the up and up,” said Trammel. “In today’s election procedures, there seems to be a problem, no matter what - from hanging chads to lost ballots. What’s the problem with requiring a photo ID? Honest elections, perhaps?”
Sandra Hutchins echoed Trammel’s sentiments, citing identity theft as a good reason for the bill.
“I don’t see why showing a photo ID to vote would be any different than showing a photo ID when we write a check,” said Hutchins. “We live in a society that has so many scammers and people who try to steal identities, so it looks like showing a photo ID to vote would help protect honest citizens, not harm them.”
County Election Board Secretary Connie Parnell believes if the bill passes into law, lines at polling precincts will become much longer, as it will take time to verify photo IDs properly.
“Besides, this bill has stipulations in it that we already perform under federal law,” said Parnell. “We have been doing many of these things since the late 1980s or early ‘90s.”
Parnell said that in addition, since 2003, identification has been required under the “Help America Vote Act.” The act requires voters who registered to vote by mail for the first time in their county of residence to show identification, which could be a current photo ID; a voter ID card; a government document showing name and address; or a utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck showing name and address.
“If the person cannot provide the appropriate ID, they are allowed to vote a provisional ballot,” said Parnell. “If the bill requires everyone who cannot produce a photo ID to vote under a provisional ballot, we will need, possibly, an entire second set of precinct workers just to handle the paperwork.”
Like Wilson and Price, Parnell believes the claim of voter fraud doesn’t hold water.
“We just don’t have voter fraud in Oklahoma,” said Parnell. “I travel to many functions with other secretaries from Tulsa and Rogers counties, and they haven’t indicated any problem with fraud, either.”
Parnell believes precinct workers play a crucial role in preventing fraud.
“These people live in the precinct in which they work, and they know most of the people in the precinct,” said Parnell. “It would be very difficult for someone to vote in another person’s name.”
Judy Parrott said the Cherokee County Republican Women discussed this very issue on Monday, and believes her rights would be better protected if the bill passes.
“It assures me that someone who doesn’t have the legal right to vote won’t have the opportunity to negate my vote,” said Parrott. “Identification is required for everything from writing a check to buying a vehicle to purchasing weapons. What is the difference?”
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