Dear Mr. Schultz-
I've just become acquainted with your proposal for a Voter ID law here in Iowa, and would like a chance to respond. In more than 140 characters. I like Twitter too, when I'm in haiku-mode, but some things require a little more substance so I'm hoping you took a moment to click on the link leading to this.
First, I'd like to say what a perfectly sensible, level-headed and pragmatic piece of legislation this is. If this could pass the way you described it in your Iowa Press-Citizen guest opinion column, it's hard to see why any logical, reasonable person could argue against it. Second, I'd like to say why it'll never fly.
"With their input, I created a bill that allows any federal, state or
local government-issued photo ID as well as any student photo ID from a
public or private university, college or high school to be used at the
polls. For the elderly confined to health care facilities, we only
require an affidavit to be signed if they do not have identification. It
also requires the state of Iowa to provide a free photo ID to any
eligible voter who requests an ID.
In the case where someone does
not have an ID at the polls, we allow someone to attest for them as long
as the person attesting has a valid photo ID. If someone is unable to
show ID, we allow them to vote a provisional ballot, but the burden of
proof is shifted from the voter to the public. This requires the
precinct election board to count the provisional ballot unless a member
of the public can prove that the voter is ineligible to vote.
The law also will be implemented over a two-year period to give voters time to be educated and to adjust to the new rules."
http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20131027/OPINION02/310270013/Iowa-s-voter-ID-bill-model-country?nclick_check=1
There's been a lot of back-and-forth on this matter in the last decade and I get it. I do. You can't do anything without an ID these days; you can't rent movies, return something to a store for cash or credit, can't buy a pack of cigarettes even though if you have more grey hairs than the kid selling them to you has pimples... I've been walking the dogs in my neighborhood and have had police officers stop me and ask for my ID. Voting is surely more important than these things, so why shouldn't an ID be required for something so vital to our democracy?
How will the Democrats react? Just a guess, but they'll probably say 'why fix a problem that doesn't exist?' Which is a really good question. I'm aware of your disputes lately with the Obama administration over access to databases and the claims of some, like Joel Miller, on numbers of potential fraudulent voters in Linn County (where I live), and there are serious, valid points being made. But at the end of the day, not one election has been swayed by these instances. They are rare and inconsequential. Mr. Miller's office has said his office had identified around 100 potential voter fraud cases in the past year. Even if he's right- hell, let's make him triple-right, let's say they are 300 verified cases in Linn County. Crimes and criminals, all. Find them and prosecute, they have violated a law. But they have not changed anything.
How will your fellow Republicans react? Again, just a guess, but from what I've read about the lukewarm reception it's received so far, I'm guessing you're not getting any votes from the right side of the aisle, at least if the final bill looks anything like the quote from you listed above.
This is the 'let's get real' part of my response.
Looking around the country, we can easily surmise what the point of all the current Voter ID legislation is all about. The country is changing, the GOP is not, and they're losing votes. They need these laws. They need to be able to disqualify thousands of blacks and latinos and women and elderly folk, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hold on to their offices. Not as much here in Iowa, but certainly in more diverse areas of the country. Your proposed bill is a mockery of that agenda. There is nothing contained in there that is going to win more Republican seats, it will only bolster our democracy, so what's the point in that?
The title that the Press-Citizen gave to your piece was "Iowa's voter ID bill is a model for the country." I agree. Too bad that no one on either side of the aisle will agree with you.
This is a great piece. You have hit on something that few people seem to grasp. The Republicans as a party and the Democrats as a party are almost indistinguishable from one another when it comes to thwarting anything that is not designed to further the image of one party by damaging the other. The relationship between these two parties represents the ultimate "zero sum game" except in the arena of foreign policy. (We can see with the Obama Administration almost no appreciable difference in this Administration's approach to combating terrorism from the last Administration. Though Obama did get us out of the war in Iraq and that's HUGE, the surveillance state under his watch has increased ten fold. The use of drones to kill US citizens without due process, also increased dramatically. Any Democrat who fails to realize the problems with these policies is no better than a Republican who embraces anything the GOP says or does just because the GOP says it. I can almost not even articulate how disgusted I am with so-called liberals who embrace the NSA activities because "Obama did it." I mean, WTF?? I don't vote parties, I vote policies.) But I digress... (LOL!) Back to your point: Any idea that is truly moderate; takes a middle ground, forget it. An ID makes sense but as you observed, quite correctly, actual instances of voter fraud are so de minimis that there is no true threat to the outcome of an election. This is why the GOP's support of voter ID laws is so suspect. Of course you are correct; their proposals are driven not to ensure fair outcomes but rather to suppress voter turn out of minority voters who tend to vote Democratic. I also agree with you that the Democrats are never going to get on board with a voter ID law of any type. They see any support of a law like that as a slippery slope designed to lead to more restrictive statutes. Unfortunately in America, moderate, measured, deliberative views are shouted down by the din of noise generated by extremists on either side, though mostly Republicans. The tea voters and their candidates represent a racist, uneducated sector of the US that isn't going away but which also can't win on a national level. But if the Dems field someone bad next time and the Repubs field Ted Cruz he could win the election. He's really smart. Hard to believe that based on his idiot behavior but he's about as calculating as they come and he scares me. He will pivot right to the center when the time comes, and he's smart enough to pull it off. Ok and finally some random thoughts: 1. GREAT banjo pictures. You really like your banjos. I hope you got the Cornbread one for your wedding gift. ha ha ha 2. Your daughter's pictures are so cute!!! 3. Thanks for sharing this blog with me. It's great.
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