Practically Speaking

I was just thinking...could Congress enact some sort of emergency legislation for a nationwide voter ID requirement, and if a voter did not have one, their ballot be cast provisionally. Guess I wasn't the first.

GrasstopsUSA sent out an email, asking that we demand "Congress be called back into session IMMEDIATELY and emergency legislation must be passed that simply states that voters must produce a valid state or federal ID at the polls or have their vote counted provisionally." (I do not support GrasstopsUSA financially but find their emails interesting.) This has a snowballs chance of going anywhere, but dealing with voter fraud after the fact is pretty ineffective.

It does little good to question a vote after the fact. Once ballots are cast in the usual way, it is impossible to know if they came from a legitimately registered voter or a fraudulent one. 

Another idea might be for emergency legislation requiring the permanent ink on the finger solution, as they did in Iraq. It wouldn't prohibit illegals from voting, but at least a person could cast only one vote.

My son informs me that idea would not work because we are too sophisticated a society and have access to solvents. (I guess I can already picture certain groups passing out little foil packets of solvent wipes to their voters.) 

What about requiring a fingerprint to vote? That wouldn't disenfranchise anyone since we all have a fingerprint. (Retailers used to require fingerprints if paying by check.) I don't like the Big-Brother-ish aspect of that idea, but voters might be hesitant to use a fraudulent registration if they knew there was a record of it.

I contacted Congressman Sensenbrenner, Senators Kohl and Feingold and the President about my concerns regarding the need for voter ID and signed up to be a poll watcher. At least I know I tried.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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