- Joined
- Aug 27, 2005
- Messages
- 43,602
- Reaction score
- 26,256
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court has ruled against a Texas law that would require voters to present photo IDs to election officials before being allowed to cast ballots in November.
A three-judge panel in Washington ruled Thursday that the law imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor" and noted that racial minorities in Texas are more likely to live in poverty.
I agree with this, and here is why:
1) A while back, I lost my driver's license, and had to get another one. In order to do so, I had to obtain my birth certificate, which cost me $25.00. Then my replacement license was another 10 bucks. If you don't have photo ID to begin with, then the cost is $16.00, which makes for a total of $41.00. OK, not that much money to me, but for someone who is poor, that is a barrier that he or she might not be able to hurdle. In essense, this amounts to a poll tax, which is a form of voter suppression.
2) Is photo ID a good idea? Yes, I think so. All Texas has to do is to make sure that the photo ID, as well as ALL underlying documents required to obtain it, is free of charge. Then there is nothing equivalent to a poll tax in the law, and the law would be constitutional.
Article is here.