Saturday, January 12, 2008

Voluntary Voter ID

Oops!

Cory Liebmann decided that he wanted to rant about voter ID, so decided to rant about AB 549.  Cory says:

Conservatives in Wisconsin have also introduced another old standby, requiring a voter ID (AB 549).  Every election year they jump up and down and manufacture fake numbers in trying to convince the media and the public that there is a voter fraud problem in Wisconsin.

Apparently, he didn’t actually take the time to read the bill.  That’s OK, Cory.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Here’s what the bill actually does.:

With certain limited exceptions, this bill permits any elector, at the time of registration, to elect to be required to provide identification in order to vote in an election. The bill also permits a registered elector to elect to be required to provide identification in order to vote by appearing in person at the office of the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners of the municipality where the elector resides. The elector must sign a statement making the election and present identification.

This is voluntary voter ID.  For example, it would allow me to check a box to have the election folks check an ID before someone casts a ballot under my name.  It’s a way for me to protect my vote from being used by someone else.  Let’s face it, if I walk into my polling place and find that my vote has already been cast, there’s not much I can do about it.  They won’t let me vote and I would be disenfranchised.  And the likelihood of the D.A. every finding out who actually did it is almost nil. 

What will be interesting about this bill is to see what the opposition, like Cory, does.  Their argument against mandatory voter ID is that it would allegedly disenfranchise people who do not possess an ID.  That argument doesn’t apply in this case.  It’s voluntary.  If Cory does not have an ID, then he can choose to not require that his ID be checked before voting.  If I have an ID and want a little extra security on MY vote, then I can choose to require an ID to be checked before my vote is cast.  Without the concern of disenfranchising people without IDs, one would think that the champions of choice would support this bill. 

Unless, of course, they oppose voter ID for some other reason…

(9) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1550 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Good, our first catch of the day!

    I like this, it’s a nice counter-move for the pro-ID group.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 12, 2008 at 1726 hrs


  2. I oppose voter id because it will reduce turnout and hurt the conservative vote.
        I have not seen anyone do a reliable study that shows how voter id will affect partisan vote.
      Twenty years ago the standard philosophy was that the Republicans/conservatives came out to vote on a more reliable basis.  this is no longer true.
        Since we have put so many people on the governmental dole you can believe that they wil come out more reliably now as it butters their bread.
      In the big turnout races consrvatives win.  If the turnout is low then the people that are at the government teat will turn out for sure.
      Liberals, be careful for what you wish.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 12, 2008 at 2122 hrs


  3. I’d like to see how Liebmann’s view changes if someone goes to his polling place and votes for him.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 13, 2008 at 1625 hrs


  4. Despite conservatives whipping themselves into a frenzy over alleged voter fraud, there is no evidence of a widespread problem in Milwaukee or Wisconsin.  I don’t understand why you can’t bring yourself to believe fellow conservative Biskupic.  If you are on the outs with him perhaps you will trust a recent study that found voter fraud at a rate of 0.004% within Milwaukee and 0.0006% in the state as a whole.  Again, more proof that conservatives are seeking remedies for a problem that is virtually nonexistent.

    While this specific voter ID legislation is “optional” it does not come to us in a vacuum.  Conservatives have a long record of trying to push some of the most restrictive voting laws possible.  Given this history, why shouldn’t people be skeptical about the real motives behind this legislation? 

    By the way, my original post was not just about this legislation but also about the conservative attack on same day voter registration.  Strange that you failed to mention that issue at all, since I think it more clearly sets out the conservative agenda of attacking specific voters.

    Posted by Cory Liebmann on January 14, 2008 at 1822 hrs


  5. Cory,

    Proven vote fraud is indeed a rare occurrence in Wisconsin.  But as I have illustrated in the past, Wisconsin’s rules are so loose that it’s virtually impossible to prove many forms of voter fraud.  But neither is there proof that voter ID creates widespread disenfranchisement.  18 states require voter ID and nobody has ever legitimately shown that disenfranchisement is a problem in those states.  Isn’t a law that would help (no, noter ID is not the end all, be all of securing our elections) prevent voter fraud without harming anyone a worthy goal? 

    And even if you oppose requiring that voters identify themselves, why would you oppose this bill?  It’s voluntary.  You can be skeptical all you want of motives, but read the actual bill.  It does nothing that you should oppose, if your motives are genuine.  You can oppose the next bill that opposes mandatory voter ID, but why oppose this one?

    As for the same day registration part of your post, that was ignored because you pretty much shot yourself in the foot by getting the voter ID bill wrong.  Don’t sweat it.  I make mistakes too.  And for the record, I have long advocated abolishing same day registration and have written at length about it.

    Posted by Owen on January 14, 2008 at 1956 hrs


  6. BTW, Cory, we’re still waiting for you to man up and admit that you mischaracterized this bill.  I’m also waiting for the petition demanding that Butler recuse himself.

    http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/owns_petition/

    Posted by Owen on January 14, 2008 at 2040 hrs


  7. Isn’t a law that would help…...........prevent

    Please remember this the next time you decide to invoke the rhetoric about a “nanny state”.

    How about voluntary DWI checks for anyone wearing Green ‘n Gold next weekend?

    I’m also waiting for the petition demanding that Butler recuse himself.

    And I am waiting for the Legislature to codify a system of campaign finance reforms that doesn’t turn our SC Justices into card carrying members of the world’s oldest profession.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 14, 2008 at 2100 hrs


  8. By the way, my original post was not just about this legislation but also about the conservative attack on same day voter registration.  Strange that you failed to mention that issue at all, since I think it more clearly sets out the conservative agenda of attacking specific voters.

    Interesting how you characterize conservative concerns of voter fraud as ungrounded and then rebut it by inserting a wingbat theory about conservatives wanting to prevent voting.  “Specific voters”?  Sooner or later every Lefty goes back to the well apparently.  Meanwhile at least anecdotally it always seems to be Democrats who are trying to disenfranchise voters. Witness the attempt in Nevada by the State teachers unions.  I suppose we could resort to Leftists tricks like slashing all the tires on the Democratic “Get out the vote” vans.  Owens point about the difficulty in actually successfully prosecuting voter fraud one would think would be self evident.  College campus voter fraud alone in 2000 probably gave Wisconsin to Gore.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2008 at 0016 hrs


  9. Somebody really did a reliable study that showed that the voter id won’t affect in any way the partisan vote. So I don’t see why should we oppose to the voter id.

    Posted by new york home security systems on May 20, 2008 at 1819 hrs


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