To: Brumar89 who wrote (45399 ) 6/8/2013 10:11:14 AM From: Wharf Rat Read Replies (2) | Respond to "can minorities acquire ID"tv.msnbc.com Restrictive voter ID policies - especially those that require state-issued photo ID cards - threaten to exclude millions of eligible voters. There is a movement afoot to demand that eligible voters provide documentation of their identity at the polls and to restrict the documents that a voter may offer as proof. Indiana just implemented one such law; Missouri has just passed another. A recent Georgia law demands that voters show one of a limited number of forms of government-issued photo ID. The 2005 Commission on Federal Electoral Reform, known as the Carter-Baker Commission, went even further, recommending that states require a voter to present an enhanced driver’s license known as “Real ID” or a specific state-issued equivalent. If followed, this recommendation would prevent eligible citizens from voting if they appeared even with a valid U.S. passport or U.S. military photo ID.As many as 10% of eligible voters do not have, and will not get, the documents required by strict voter ID laws. Approximately ten percent of voting-age Americans today do not have driver’s licenses or state-issued non-driver’s photo ID. Based on Americans’ moving patterns, many more do not have photo ID showing their current address. And getting ID costs substantial time and money. A would-be voter must pay substantial fees both for ID cards and the backup documents needed to get them-up to $100 for a driver’s license, up to $45 for a birth certificate, $97 for a passport, and over $200 for naturalization papers. The voter may also have to take several hours off of work and travel significant distances to visit government offices open only during select daytime hours. Finally, many identifying documents cannot be issued immediately, so potential voters must allow for processing and shipping, which may take from several weeks to an entire year.brennancenter.org According to Twenty-five percent of African-American voting-age citizens have no current government-issued photo ID , compared to eight percent of white voting-age citizens. thinkprogress.org
