Republican-led photo voter ID laws enacted in fourteen states now make it harder to vote than to get through security screening at airports. Voter ID laws in over half the states require voters to present some form of identification and fourteen states require a government-issued photo ID. Voters in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin must present the exact photo ID prescribed by the state or be precluded from having their vote count. Six other states requiring photo ID's allow some flexibility in the type of photo ID, but still require a photo ID. The GOP insists that the photo voter ID laws are necessary to protect against alleged voter fraud.
A comparison of these strict state photo voter ID laws to the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) requirements to fly show it is harder to vote than it is to fly. Republican proponents of strict photo voter ID laws argue that the same documents are needed to fly. Everyone does not fly. And TSA is more flexible in its approach to airport security screening than the strict photo voter ID laws. TSA's web site states that where photo government documents are not available, there are other ways to verify the identity of the traveler. TSA will allow airport travelers to fly where the required documents are missing. A traveler can pass through security and fly if they do not own a driver's license, state photo ID or passport. According to TSA,
"Not having a {photo} ID, does not necessarily mean a passenger won't be allowed to fly. If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone's identity, like using publicly available databases."
Air travelers may also use 2 non-photo ID forms of ID such as a social security card or credit card, as long as verifiable. The new strict photo voter ID laws do not make any exceptions. TSA, in protecting us against terrorist attacks, is more flexible in their policy than these photo voter ID laws.
In Indiana in 2006, Valeria Williams, a woman in her 60s, was told that her telephone bill, letter from the Social Security Administration addressed to her and an expired driver's license were not sufficient identification to vote. Under the current TSA policy, she probably would have been allowed to fly. Her vote didn't count.
The Brennan Center estimates that 18 percent of all seniors and 25 percent of African-Americans don't have picture IDs. Estimates are that it could cost up to $35 to obtain the necessary documents when not in the possession of the voter, plus time off from work to obtain during working hours. And with many people struggling due to the economy, where many sometimes don't have enough money to buy food and put and keep a roof over their head, it's unlikely they will have an extra money to pay to vote.
Although the government-issued photo ID needed to vote is free, the certified birth certificate or passport needed to obtain one, if unavailable, costs money. And there is additional cost to obtain even more documents, in those cases where a name change is involved due to marriage or divorce. One thing is clear -- there is an extra cost to vote where strict voter photo ID laws are imposed. It's like having to pay extra for baggage when flying. And voting should be free and easy to do.
And for all the alleged voter fraud by the GOP, the Justice Department's nationwide study from 2002-2005 found only 5 convictions for voting multiple times and 86 convictions for improper voting. This hardly seems a reason to require extra costs and make it more difficult to vote than to fly.
Yet, in the case of strict photo ID laws, it's harder to vote these days than it is to fly.