We should copy Mexico's voter ID law
By D.A. King, Marietta Daily Journal, September 21, 2006
http://www.mdjonline.com/270/10232048.txt
Despite the cacophony of objection, last year's photo ID requirement for voting makes Georgia's one of the most secure voting systems in the nation.
The law, if finally allowed to be implemented, would make it very difficult for non-citizens and other ineligible persons to vote.
This is causing a great deal of anguish for the usual suspects.
Those who for years have counted on the practice of their constituents - living or dead - voting early and often are apoplectic in their vocal objections to any increase in voting security.
Requiring a photo ID - like when you cash a check - from the prospective voter has been deemed somehow unfair, discriminatory and a deterrent to poor or minority voters.
In the Georgia Capitol in 2005, I listened as a representative of the radical Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund [MALDEF]told a state Senate committee that the photo ID requirement would hinder - and I love this one - "the voting capability of Spanish-speaking voters."
Let's save for another day the fact that a large part of the naturalization process is the requirement that the applicant for U.S. citizenship demonstrate the ability to speak, read and understand English. And, despite the huge population of illegal aliens in our state, for now, like in most nations, only citizens are legally allowed to vote here.
This brings to mind what I believe we can use as an example of voter ID security.
What would Mexico do?
Here's what: In Mexico, to cast a ballot, the voter - all of the voters - must prove citizenship and eligibility by presenting the federally issued Mexican voter ID card - which not only bears the photo of the potential voter, but a fingerprint, a barcode and a holographic image to deter tampering. Oh my.
No photo voter ID card - no voting. Si?
After having voted, the voter's finger is dipped in ink to prevent repeat - or three-peat - voting.
To no one's surprise, nobody in Mexico gets very far with the argument that this is somehow unfair, excludes the poor or discriminates against Spanish-speaking voters.
For those readers who "don't care how Mexico does it," we can all take a lesson in security and photo identification from somewhere considerably closer to home - Blockbuster Video.
Before Blockbuster Inc. will approve an application to open an account to rent a DVD, the applicant must present a driver's license, a photo military ID or a state-issued photo ID card.
No Blockbuster-accepted photo ID? No movie.
While we all watch the irrational protests and listen to the contrived wails of injustice expressed in the media concerning making our voting system more secure, we should be asking a question of our own.
If we are not allowed to have a voter ID system as secure as Mexico's, can we please craft one that is at least as secure as the process for renting a DVD at Blockbuster?
Por favor?
D.A. King lives in northeast Cobb and is president of The Dustin Inman Society, a coalition dedicated to educating the public on the consequences of illegal immigration.
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