Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Voter Identification Unnecessary?
As expected, Gov. Rendell vetoed the bill requiring voter identification in Pennsylvannia. From the Phillladelphia Inquirer, IDs at polls unnecessary, Rendell says:
"With the National Constitution Center as his backdrop, Gov. Rendell used Presidents' Day to announce his veto of a bill that would require all voters to show identification whenever they go to the polls.
Seated in front of a dozen of the city's African American leaders, Democrats all, Rendell said at a news conference that House Bill 1318 would have the effect of denying some people their right to vote.
The legislation, he said, would discourage voting at a time when 'we should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation.'
Rendell then flew off to Pittsburgh to repeat the announcement, making this perhaps the highest-profile veto of his term as governor.
Current law imposes an identification requirement only on individuals voting at a polling place for the first time.
Lynn Swann, Rendell's likely Republican opponent in the gubernatorial election this fall, blasted the veto. His campaign said in a statement: 'The idea that presenting a form of identification would somehow disenfranchise people is as ridiculous as it is untrue.'"
Well, looks like we will have a clear contest of views this year. It is extremely unlikely that the legislature can get enough votes to overcome the governor's veto. But, we may get a good debate between the parties on this issue.
In addition to the positive ID requirement, the bill would have precluded Philadelphia and other cities from having voting places in empty houses or politicians' houses; and improved the ability of our overseas military to have their absentee ballots counted. There is another legislative chance to improve military voting proceedures this year.
The veto was predictable, since it would hinder fraudulent voting - which seems to occur largely in bigger cities, where coincidently the Democrats harvest lots of votes. Of course, the Republicans benefit from military ballots. Practical political campaigning involves understanding and managing the regional demographics.
But for the rest of us, it hard to understand why there is any opposition to assuring voters get their ballot counted and not diluted or lost because of fraud. It seems strange that we are forced by HAVA to improve our voting machines, at considerable expense, without improving the liklihood of preventing ineligible people from using the machines.
Sort of like having a massive unbreakable safe - and posting the combination on the door. But the governor seems to view that condition as desirable, since correcting it is "unnecessary".
"With the National Constitution Center as his backdrop, Gov. Rendell used Presidents' Day to announce his veto of a bill that would require all voters to show identification whenever they go to the polls.
Seated in front of a dozen of the city's African American leaders, Democrats all, Rendell said at a news conference that House Bill 1318 would have the effect of denying some people their right to vote.
The legislation, he said, would discourage voting at a time when 'we should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation.'
Rendell then flew off to Pittsburgh to repeat the announcement, making this perhaps the highest-profile veto of his term as governor.
Current law imposes an identification requirement only on individuals voting at a polling place for the first time.
Lynn Swann, Rendell's likely Republican opponent in the gubernatorial election this fall, blasted the veto. His campaign said in a statement: 'The idea that presenting a form of identification would somehow disenfranchise people is as ridiculous as it is untrue.'"
Well, looks like we will have a clear contest of views this year. It is extremely unlikely that the legislature can get enough votes to overcome the governor's veto. But, we may get a good debate between the parties on this issue.
In addition to the positive ID requirement, the bill would have precluded Philadelphia and other cities from having voting places in empty houses or politicians' houses; and improved the ability of our overseas military to have their absentee ballots counted. There is another legislative chance to improve military voting proceedures this year.
The veto was predictable, since it would hinder fraudulent voting - which seems to occur largely in bigger cities, where coincidently the Democrats harvest lots of votes. Of course, the Republicans benefit from military ballots. Practical political campaigning involves understanding and managing the regional demographics.
But for the rest of us, it hard to understand why there is any opposition to assuring voters get their ballot counted and not diluted or lost because of fraud. It seems strange that we are forced by HAVA to improve our voting machines, at considerable expense, without improving the liklihood of preventing ineligible people from using the machines.
Sort of like having a massive unbreakable safe - and posting the combination on the door. But the governor seems to view that condition as desirable, since correcting it is "unnecessary".
