The Tartan Online: For the upcoming election, a new Pennsylvania law passed in early August requires that all voters, including students, must present some form of government-issued photo identification at the polls.
The Voter ID Law specifies that the identification used must have a picture and an expiration date. As Carnegie Mellon student IDs have both already, students are allowed to use their student ID in place of a state-issued ID.
13 comments:
I plan on voting on November 6th, and I've got three forms of ID that I could use: my passport, driver's license, and CMU card. But.... not everyone has that. It surprised me how few of my peers here at college have those things. These voter ID laws are absolutely unfair to college students, those who live in cities and use only public transportation, and the elderly who don't drive either. Everyone who is an American citizen has the right to vote... but not everyone who is an American citizen has a government issued ID card. Clearly, this doesn't equate out.
I have not yet registered, but I do have to form to fill out and I will. I am also surprised that this is an issue. Like Kelley, I have all three of these forms of ID's and I find it surprising that people do not have a government issued ID card. ID's open many doors and are needed in order fly around the country or travel to another country. Although these laws do seem to be somewhat unfair, you do not have to pass a test to get a ID unless its a Driver's License. Maybe this will encourage people to get their ID's.
What a great article to have on the Green Page. Its good to hear that our CMU IDs are sufficient to vote with, though it’s disturbing that out of all of the colleges in Pennsylvania, only 15 issue IDs that are acceptable to this new voting law. Hopefully the groups that are working to get colleges to issue stickers that expire will help prevent so many students from losing their voting rights. One student interviewed for this article mentioned that the voter ID law ought to go into effect after this election because it is so close. What is really telling about the new voter ID laws is how support is so split between party lines. This divide and the issue’s proximity to the election tell us a lot about what such laws are really trying to achieve.
Ok, so im not really sure how to react to this article. Im glad it was posted, because i had no idea that was a law. I am 19 years old and plan on voting absentee this year & i have both a drivers licenses and a CMU ID, I also have a passport but i left that back home. & while i think its great that the government will allow student IDs as a form of identification for people who dont have a drivers license, I find it very odd that something thats good enough to allow me to vote is not good enough to prove to the movie theatre that im am old enough to watch a movie after 9:00pm. I'm sorry, but I think thats pretty messed up.
Also I agree with Nathan, how can you do much of anything theses days with out a government issued ID once your over 18 years old? there are so many things in our world today that you need an ID to accomplish. I dont really understand how getting an ID is a problem or why everyone doesn't already have one. Even if you cant drive you can still easily get an ID card. (I know this because i had one of these IDs last year.) Im interested to know how big of a problem voting fraud is though and if putting this law into effect (which im sure costs a lot of money) is really worth it.
I read this article when that tartan issue first came out, and I'm still a little confused about the fact that they made the law stricter by requiring a "government-issued" ID, but our private university ID counts for that. Last I checked, we weren't a government institution.
It does seem like an "extra hassle", as someone in the article mentioned, but what government procedure doesn't have several extra hassles in it?
I would be interested in seeing the political distribution of the colleges who can automatically use their IDs versus the ones who can't. Is it possible--conspiracy theory warning--that the colleges who can vote without extra work are skewed toward a particular political party? Could this be construed as incredibly sneaky discrimination? (Probably not, but it's fun to think about.)
I appreciate that this article was posted - it is incredibly relevant to current events and student life, and it has enlightened me on an issue I didn't know existed. I had no idea what consequences such a seemingly small and harmless law could have, but now I am more aware and grateful for the voting opportunity I am privileged with. The reason behind the new law, to prevent voter fraud, seems perfectly valid, but it seems that the government could have done a much better job of making the public aware and able to cope with it. They should have passed the law much earlier, advertised it, and been willing to help voters without an ID with an expiration date obtain the necessary means with which to vote. The purpose was a good one, but the execution was definitely faulty.
I think this article clearly shows the controversy that might be going on in Pittsburgh. It is hard to say pros and cons just based on what the government says, but I think it will definitely be helpful to avoid some of fraudulent voting because everyone has to prove their right identification. On the other hand, it can be against the freedom of express. All U.S. citizens must have equal rights to vote, but I can see that many of young adults or even some adults do not have any of government issued ID cards. So, I hope that maybe the government can react to this problem quickly or else they give time before starting the law.
I'm not sure if I'm completely wrong in stating this, but is is not required in this state for adults over the age of 18 to have a government issued ID? I'm fairly certain that back home, once you have reached legal age to be responsible for yourself and are deemed no longer a minor, you are asked to go to the DMV or similar institution to get an identification card. This isn't a license, even; it it simply a card with your picture, name, physical description and expiration date. I had several friends that couldn't drive but still managed to do what the rest of us were able to with our licenses.
Also, the student who said "if people are unable to vote because of financial reasons, they should just ask the government for help" needs to get his head checked. It's not that simple, dear. If the government wants you to get an ID card and you can't, it's slightly more complicated than asking "come on, please".
It is very interesting that just a sticker can make a college ID good for voting. The article is totally right that this makes it hard for a lot of people since they can’t get a state id due to them losing things or just not needing it for there every day life and since a lot of people just vote once every four years when the president is up that other hurdle makes it so that they will probably just not vote. I hope that may be that the state will be required to give out free state IDs so that no your income is not a factor for you to vote. Many people cannot afford the10 -20 dollars are needed to go to food instead of an id so that they can vote. This is a right but it should not cast them to exercise your rights.
Fortunately, as of October 2, this law will NOT be in effect for the November presidential election. PA Judge Robert Simpson blocked it, saying that according to current figures, it would be unlikely that everybody requiring an ID for the election would even be able to obtain one in time. It does not block or ban the law forever, but DOES stop it from affecting the presidential election. Sorry, guys. Obama has a 7-12 percentage point lead in PA at the moment, and it looks like the GOP is going to have to find another way to try to change that for this election.
I wanted to do what Alex did, but he beat me to it. Regardless, I am very relieved that this law was turned down. At the goal level, this was a good bill. Voter fraud is bad, and should be prevented. However, at a tactical level of how the bill was going to achieve this goal, there was far too much noise, mostly political in nature, that was getting in the way. I'm glad the judge made the decision he did as it is clear that a better design is needed to achieve this goal, and I look forward to a less noisy, politically motivated one coming through soon.
I agree with Kael that the guy that posted "if people are unable to vote because of financial reasons, they should just ask the government for help" is a little uninformed. It doesn't work like that. I dont think there is a govt program to help people get state id cards...
The fact that this law could be set in place is still a little unsettling. It does target people and would prevent a lot of people from voting. The only reason i am voting is because they will take my id card. It be one thing if they made it easier for the people targeted (the elderly and those who can't afford to get one) to get them and also made an exception for college id cards.
I have an extensive amount of IDs that would work for this. What is good is that it does not have to be a government issues ID to vote, but could be a school ID, or work ID. This is a pain for people to do, but its a good thing that they do it. Voting is just a complicated process in general, and thats why its good to be an informed voter. If you know whats going on, your vote will be cast properly (I hope). What is interesting to me is why more people dont vote absentee ballot from their hometown. Its actually pretty easy, if youre registered already it doest take much to do. College students could easily do this.
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