Voting ID's in a Compassionate Society by RR Odle

Voting ID’s in a Compassionate Society  (Good Citizens of the World)

Many states, mostly Republican states, have passed laws that citizens must have an official state or federal ID to vote.  So, its not such a bad idea on the surface to require an ID to vote.

But, what if you are an old person who no longer has an ID since you stopped driving and you’ve lost your birth certificate, never had one, or have one that has an error on it.

What if you can’t get off work or don’t have transportation to get your ID up to speed.  Or what if you have changed your name several times, i.e., a woman that has got married a few times, and you can’t document all your marriages and divorces.  And yes, I know the challenge here since my wife has been married three times (third time the charge) and got her first name changed once just for fun.  I witnessed the hassle even though she had a pile of documents to work from … even then it was touch and go and took an hour.  If it was me, there is no way I am organized to keep all those papers and court rulings.

So how do we get the Republicans who want ID’s and the Democrats who believe no one should be denied the right to vote together.  Simple. Compassion.  If we pass a law that everyone who votes needs an ID, we should have compassion on those that do not have an ID and provide them support to get an ID.  Maybe even some rule changes will be needed to get some people an ID.  It should be the government’s job to make it possible to get an ID for everyone. No one should be denied the right to vote in a democracy.  Maybe even some temporary ID’s will be needed until the more complicated cases are resolved.  Compassion as usual, will recognize that some people will have problems getting an ID, even insurmountable problems, and it is our job as a compassionate society to help those who need it … and not accept anyone being not allowed to vote.