I'm glad you asked, this article takes up the case rather nicely...
Not really, it's just rehashing of the same arguments we've already had, including a rather sad strawman.
The basis of the argument is that the crime of voter fraud MAY WELL BE HAPPENING, but we just can't prove it. Voter photo ID would stop it, so why not put it in place?
Well, I already answered that sufficiently, but to recap:
1) Voting is a constitutional right.
2) Before placing restrictions on constitutional rights, specific hurdles have to be cleared.
3) The most important of those is WHAT is the SPECIFIC public good that is more important that the right itself?
"We may have a problem we're not even looking for" is not sufficient reason.
"Show cause, or do not infringe the right," is the basis for most of the court arguments rejecting voter photo ID laws to date.
And to just add to that, may I say that the notion that we have a massive voter fraud problem that we're not aware of because we're not looking for it is absurd.
Let me prove that. Let's say someone goes to the polls and identifies himself as me. Since I am a registered voter, my name appears on the voter registration rolls. Of course, he'll have to have a voter ID (non photo as they are issued in Michigan) with my name on it, and he'll have to know to go to the right polling place, since that's the only place my name appears, but never mind all that, let's say he is very determine to steal my vote, so he does it.
Presuming that he got to the polls BEFORE I did, then when I go to the polls, I'll be told I cannot vote, because their records indicate that I already voted. Yes, that's right, using the high-tech device of a pencil and a ruler, they crossed my name off the voter printout when that vote fraud guy voted as me.
So I just say "Oh well," and I go back home and I tell no one, and the vote fraud guy wins.
Yeah. Let's think about that one for a minute.
The FIRST thing that would happen is that I'd be raising a stink about it. I'd demand my right to vote and I'd be given a provisional ballot. An investigation would ensue when I lodged a complaint with the local Election Commission, too.
And that's ONE guy.
Sure, a voter fraud guy would get away with voting for some folks, since most don't show up to the polls anyway.
On the other hand, he has to go stand in line for each of them; he can't show up to the polls and pretend to be five guys all at once, let alone 50 or 500 guys. If he's going to go back to the same polls over and over again, he has to hope no one recognizes him each time he comes through; pretty daring for the sake of waiting an hour in line each time to cast one vote, then back to the end of the line again.
Oh, but maybe he has 500 cohorts! Yeah, that's it, they do voter fraud en masse. Of course, I hope they'll be able to muster those 500 guys all in the same district, since no doubt they'll want to vote THEMSELVES and gosh, can there be 500 voter fraud guys for every precinct who dare to vote once as themselves and once as someone else? Seems like a lot of people willing to risk going to prison over a vote. How much are they being paid for this work? If it were me, they'd have to pay me an awful lot to get me to risk it.
And of course, it only takes a few guys like me who discover that someone else has voted in our names before the election folks are going to realize that they have a massive problem on their hands.
So, to be clear, for this kind of fraud to work:
1) One guy has to pretend to be many; or many guys have to pretend to be a few guys each.
2) They have to stand in line for up to an hour each vote.
3) They have to hope they're not recognized.\
4) They have to be local, since clearly they will want to cast at least their own lawful vote (not much point in casting one fraudulent vote if you don't also vote yourself, eh)?
5) They have to know where each voter they intend to defraud needs to go to vote.
6) They have to hope that the voters they intend to defraud WERE registered to vote but do NOT plan on voting, of there are going to be LOTS of complaints of voter fraud raised all at once.
Hmmm.
I'm going to say no, we do not have an undetected voter fraud problem at the polls.
If you can't show me the fraud, you can't restrict my right to vote by placing burdens on it.
No breaky, no fixy.
Especially when we're talking about constitutional rights.
And frankly, if someone suggested that what really need is more gun laws because maybe there is a lot of gun crime that we're just not detecting, your head would shoot off your shoulders and fly around the room. Think about it.
