Sunday, July 09, 2006

Photo ID should be a requirement to vote

I don't know how many times this particular poll has to be taken before our elected officials realize that Americans want a Photo ID requirement in order to vote.

Once again, another national poll is showing overwhelming support for a photo ID requirement. 77% want a photo ID requirement, 18% do not, 5% undecided-

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of likely voters across the country agree that displaying a photo ID should be required to cast a vote. Democrats and liberals are a bit less likely to agree than members of other groups identified in our survey.

The photo-ID requirement is being implemented in seven states this election season as a measure to combat voting fraud. The new mandate will be tested first in Georgia, where it has received a go-ahead from the Justice Department but is still being challenged by critics who say it violates the voting rights of minorities, the elderly, and rural residents. The state's primary elections are on July 18.

The controversy over photo-ID is occurring in the context of an allied debate over renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which some argue is no longer necessary. Others cite the push for a photo-ID requirement as evidence that the Act must be fully renewed without further ado.

A smaller majority of the survey's 1,000 respondents, 68%, say that the text of election ballots should be English-only. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say ballots should be posted in both English and Spanish. About three quarters or more of Republicans, unaffiliated voters, conservatives and moderates agree with an English-only requirement; only 54% of Democrats and 55% of liberals also agree.

On the broader question of whether elections are generally fair to voters, a plurality of 48% say Yes; 37% say No. Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans say Yes, joined by only 31% of Democrats and 43% of unaffiliated voters.

Over the years we've polled on this question, the percentage of voters who say elections are fair has usually been in the high 40s. Democrats were more likely to say Yes when Bill Clinton was President. Republicans are more likely to say Yes with George W. Bush as President.


After Jim Doyle's repeated vetoes of a VOTER ID requirement, this is just one more way that proves Jim Doyle ignores us common folks.

2 comments:

displaced ched head said...

Reported far less then should be, Mexico requires a photo I.D. to vote. Thats why the recall went so quickly and smoothly. There is a huge lesson in that. The left candidate tried to pull a fumblerooski out of the Dems in Americas playbook only to be thrown for a 7 yard loss (clever "real" football analogy).
I believe a paper trail in electronic voting machines should be in place also, if thats the compromise for photo I.D. lets get it done. Unfortunately the left has been buying elections as far back as Boss Tweed.

photo id cards said...

With personal information obtained from something like an ID card with no photo, people can establish an identity with your information, forge your signature, and perform a number of other illegal acts.