Guest Column
Papers Please…No ID. No Vote!
By Robert Miranda
Uniform voting privileges, standard government issue voting ID cards, and a government processed state-wide voter registration list almost sounds like some public television documentary of Communist China or the policy of some two bit dictatorship in a God forsaken underdeveloped nation in some obscure part of the world.
Leave it to the reactionary conservative Republican majority in the Assembly to initiate a law that would require American citizens to present an ID at the voting polls. “The purpose of this bill is to make it harder to cheat but easier to vote," said the Republican chairman of the Assembly Campaigns and Elections Committee.
Well, let’s just take a look at how much easier this law would be for those who are homeless. Considering this population has as much right to vote as any during the election season, how is government going to process photos for this nomadic population, who, only until recently (when Democrats found them in various rescue missions and offered cigarettes for their votes) were an after thought in normally boring political campaigns.
Clearly, ID cards issued by the state for this group of disenfranchised and transient population, would miss a large percentage of this population, having a devastating impact on their right to go to the polls if and when they please, cigarettes or not. Remember, every vote counts…Frankly, to ensure this population is issued a shinny new government issue voting card would add stress and strain to an already depleting state budget.
Is this just another way for BIG BROTHER to track the working poor and people of color in our state? Having the state keep tabs on the citizenry via this innocent and much needed issue of voter ID. Clearly there are more profound issues that the state should be able to deal with…Surely Wisconsin has more pressing matters to address than just worry about a few hundred people who have, for some reason or another, decided to participate in democracy by performing their civic duty. And if they did cheat, so what! Is this state so unstable that one fraudulent—or even one thousand—vote (s) cast by an unscrupulous voter (s) is going to make such a difference to the political establishment of this state? Are we teetering on the brink of Anarchy?
Yet leave it to the corporate party (the Republicans) to come up with the brilliant argument stressing why such action is needed: “photo identification is needed to rent a videotape, it should also be required of voters,” say Republican leaders. Indeed, as if we are purchasing a vote. To say that this statement is simplistic would be putting it mildly. To ignore that this is classic big brother breathing down the neck of the citizenry, is to ignore that this push by the Republican Assembly is nothing more than further regulating citizen voting rights.
Such a political move is a real threat to our freedom and our ability to engage in a fundamental democratic principle. I trust that the leaders of Corporate America’s chosen political party understand that being a voter in this nation is not akin to being a consumer. I hope that these conservative lawmakers can tell the difference between purchasing a service and practicing your constitutional right to vote without added government encroachment.
Never Forget
When one ponders the historical voting record of this
country, one need not be surprised by the level of passion and conviction
being displayed by those who rise against governments aim to establish
policies that boost security and control rather than access and convenience
for voters. As President George Washington once proclaimed, "Government is
not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome
servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to
irresponsible action."
Wisconsin should never fear its people. Government should never mistrust
its citizens. As the voices of fear rise from the Republican Party, the
voices of reason must come forward with a resolve to defeat those who seek
to establish laws that limit civil expansion. "That government is best
which governs the least, because its people disciplines themselves," is as
true today as it was when Thomas Jefferson first spoke those words.
Today we find ourselves reminded of our continued need to be vigilant of our
precious civil liberty, and as our African-American colleagues have pointed
out, the time to make a stand for liberty once again has arrived.
The requirement of showing photo identification before proceeding to vote is a reminder to the elder Black citizens of our state, of a time when the poll tax and physical intimidation were used to keep them away from the voting booths.
Disadvantages of Voter ID:
According to the ACE Project, a collaborative effort spearheaded by the
International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), the International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), and
the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA),
Disadvantages of voter identification cards include the following:
- Cards can be very costly to produce, though cost varies significantly.
- The high costs must be borne either by the government or the voter, or
both. If cost deferred to the voter, this will inevitably decrease the
percentage of eligible voters who obtain an identification card.
- The card can be lost or stolen.
- A significant administrative structure must be in place to produce the
cards.
- Cards must be produced with technology appropriate to the setting in
which they are issued and used. When electricity is not available at the
registration and card-issuing sites, a cold laminate can be used to seal the
cards, or if necessary, no laminate at all.
- Some voters will arrive at the voting station without their card.
Procedures must be developed to respond to this situation.
- Cards must be updated periodically. Cards will wear
out over time and the pictures on them will become dated. Thus, there is a
need for a system of regular replacement.
- The election authority must have a reliable system of delivery of ID
cards. Cameroon experienced considerable difficulties with poor distribution
of ID cards in 1997, effectively excluding those citizens from voting.
Recommendations for Improving The System:
The recommendations to proceed upon builds on improving the existing
system. Those recommendations are:
1. Hire more poll workers and establish or enhance an alternative call list
of poll workers willing to be placed on call, and will report in on a
moments notice to replace poll workers who fail to report for duty.
2. Create accountability system aimed at making certain that poll worker
are at their work sites (some don't show up).
a) Supervisor could call in to the main office to report that all are in;
or
b) Someone from the main office can stop by to check.
3. If poll workers don't show up, supervisor should make certain to contact
the main office and notify the main office that they need more poll workers.
4. Hire at least two (2) supervisors for each poll site to share the
duties/tasks.
a) Both Supervisors will have more time to attend to special problems or
questions that voters or poll workers may have.
b) They won't be in such a rush when it is time to do all the paperwork and close the polls. Mistakes will be reduced.
c) They can share the tasks, i.e., making certain that lunch schedule is made, all signs posted, other materials posted where necessary (sometimes some workers forget to take signs out of bag/boxes).
d) By sharing tasks, they can make certain that signs are posted in the correct place (if one is busy or forgets, the other hopefully will remember
and do it.)
5. Make certain that everyone has a lunch break (to avoid fatigue, whether you go out to eat or not, some break should be taken.) Usually people bring and eat their lunch there (at the site) so they would be available, in case it got extremely busy (No one has ever refused to help out when they were out to lunch and it got busy.).
6. Offer two shifts, for those interested.
7. Don't rotate tasks or job duties, unless necessary. Some people are needed to handle certain tasks while others are very efficient at handling others.
8. There is no need to get rid of the senior citizens working at the polls; assign one or two to each site. They do a very good job of handling the
task of watching the ballots go into the machine properly, handing out an "I voted" sticker, and giving a friendly greeting to arriving and departing
voters.
9. Make certain that poll Supervisors know their job so that they are conscious of what's going on in their surroundings.
10. Pay the poll workers and registrars the same amount.
11. Give a class to Registrars only so that most questions can be answered.
12. Make certain to post (large sign), the documents needed to register at the polls before voting.
13. Make certain to post the various voting sites in a high profile place so that when voters come in they can see it right away. (Sometimes, after spending 5-10 minutes there giving their name and address, voters get irritated if/when they are told that they are at the wrong voting site.)
Maybe titled in BOLD 'DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO VOTE?'
14. Assign the task of check the names against the voting list to someone who is really sharp to avoid mistakes.
15. Make sure that Spanish, Hmong, Laotian, and Russian language speakers are working at each site. (In case some voters have questions there will be no doubt that their questions were answered in a language that they understood.- ___________________________________________________
- Robert Miranda, a frequent contributing columnist to
HispanicVista.com (http://www.hispanicvista.com/)
is a national award winning columnist, Latino community activist and
Editor-in-Chief of the Milwaukee Spanish Journal. Email at:
rmiranda@wi.rr.com
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed by HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com) without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)