Let's make voting easier?

Have your heard anyone say, let's make voting easier? Let's take a look at how difficult it is. What are the requirements for voting?

• You must be 18 years of age.
• You must be a U.S. citizen.

Seems quite easy so far.

What do you need to when registering to vote before election day? I will use the Wisconsin requirements as an example.

• Supply identification of who you are. This can be; (1) a valid drivers license, (2) a Wisconsin state ID card or (3) provide the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.

Still sounds easy.

What do you need to bring with you to register the day of voting?

If you register the day of the election you will need; (1) A current and valid Wisconsin driver’s license (2) A current and valid Wisconsin identification card (3) Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit (4) Any identification card issued by an employer in the normal course of business and bearing a photo of the card holder, but not including a business card (5) A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election (6) A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes election day (7) A university, college or technical institute fee card (must include photo) (8) A university, college or technical institute identification card (must include photo) (9) A gas, electric or telephone service statement for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before election day (10) Bank statement (11) Paycheck (12) A check or other document issued by a unit of government.

Still no visible road blocks. I challenge you all to try and think of one person who would not have at least one of these identification documents. While you are doing this, count how many of these identification documents you have. Remember, a person requires only one of these forms of identification to register for voting.

Even if you don't bring any of these with you when registering the day of the election, by law you are allowed to cast a provisional ballot, which will be included in the count if by 4:00 PM on the day following the election you either in person, fax, email, or telephone your driver license number to the municipal clerk.

Doesn't this sound like they are bending over backwards to make it easy?

How does a person lose the right to vote? A person loses the right to vote if he or she is:

1. Judicially declared mentally incompetent.
2. Convicted of an “infamous crime,” and the person’s civil rights have not been restored. You may ask what is an "infamous crime"? An “infamous crime” is a crime punishable by death in the state penitentiary or imprisonment in a state correctional facility. There are ways a felon can have the right to vote restored, but it is to lengthy for this blog.
3. Death (except in Cook County Illinois).

I don't know about you, but if a person cannot meet the above mentioned requirements, then they don't really care about the election or the issues. I don't want them to vote!

I think we should work on making voting harder. The most worthwhile things in life aren't easy.

Datadiver 12-7-2008