Issue of the Week: The Return of Voter ID
Voter ID is simply a solution in search of a problem.
Nevertheless, Republicans still have their hearts set on requiring voter ID at the polls to reduce alleged voter fraud. Why? Because voter ID will make it harder for students, minorities, older folks and low-income voters to vote on Election Day. Republicans know that this will suppress the vote among those who traditionally support Democrats, thereby helping Republicans on Election Day.
The state Senate—without any Democratic support—has already acted on a voter ID requirement, choosing to vote on it when the Senate Democrats were in Illinois to slow down the vote on the collective bargaining bill. This week the Assembly will have its chance to debate the measure, which is said to be among the most restrictive in the country. If Republicans were really serious about the integrity of the vote, they would be demanding a thorough investigation of the voting irregularities in Waukesha County. “Losing” 14,000 votes is a very serious matter.
Event of the Week
Wisconsin Solidarity March for Immigrant and Worker Rights
Supporters of organized labor and immigrant-rights advocates will join forces on Sunday, May 1, to call for an end to the attack on all Wisconsin workers. Leading the call for social and economic justice will be national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Voces de la Frontera Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz and other community leaders. Rain or shine, marchers will assemble at 1:30 p.m. at Fifth and Washington streets. At 2 p.m. they will head to Veterans Park for a 3 p.m. rally. For more information about the march and regional buses to Milwaukee, go to vdlf.org.
Heroes of the Week
Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee
There are scores of nonprofit organizations throughout Milwaukee who rely on volunteers to offer programs and services to the less fortunate in our community. Individuals willing to donate their time and unique skills to make a positive difference in the lives of others might be overwhelmed by the abundance of opportunities.
Enter the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee, which describes itself as a “clearinghouse” that connects would-be volunteers with nonprofit agencies in need of help. Located at 2819 W. Highland Blvd., the Volunteer Center matches the skills and interests of both individuals and corporations with organizations working to improve the community.
Readers interested in finding volunteer opportunities are urged to visit the center's database at www.volunteermilwaukee.org or call the office at 414-273-7887.
No votes were lost in Waukesha County. They were just late in reporting. We all want instant results. After the canvass, the totals were corrected.
Whats wrong with having an Id for voting? Whats the big deal? Just go down to the DMV, show your birth certificate, and POOOF, click of the camera, you have an ID. If someone can get out of their hammock and vote, they can get out of their hammock and stop by the DMV.
When these people go on vacation and fly to Disney World, how do they get on a plane? When you open a bank account, how do you prove who you are? I don't get it. Do they just lose their IDs around election time? Then find them when they want to go on vacation?
Even in a high turnout election, they say only 60% vote. Is this 60% of those registered? 60% of those who filed tax returns? 60% of those registered by the US Census? 60% of the drivers licenses?
Still, that leaves at least 40% of people who COULD vote who are not voting. Can I get the list of residents in a voting ward who have never registered? Can I send in a team of ringers to register in those names without an ID and then vote? Proof at registration time will solve that.
Can I examine the check off list after the polls have closed, take note of those names that have not been crossed off, then send in ringers to vote under those names next time? With no ID, I run the risk that this time that name is motivated to vote.
Have the poll workers EVER had a case where someone walks up to get their ballot, states their name, and finds that it is already crossed off? I have only heard the news report of felon cases, never this kind of attempted fraud.
Do you think the poll workers themselves could slug in a bunch of ballots for all those names that were not crossed off? It would take the workers and watchers all working in cahoots, and I can see that happening in some wards. That will not be solved by Voter ID, can never be proven until the voters can be audited, perhaps take home a sort of "receipt" that can be counted up later, see if the total is right. This could show that votes were manufactured, or were thrown out. Have the auditors of an election ever checked the names crossed off, call them and ask if they voted or not?
Not to mention you need to show ID to apply for your government handouts Food stamps Buy Ciggarettes and Liquor Rent a movie i think an election is at least as important
Well, what I see here is that, I know they'll find a way around it, but it could be seen as a poll tax and those are against the Contitution. The ONLY reason I have a state ID is because my mentor bought me it. It's like $30! I know to some people that's not a lot of money, but it is to me. Well, why is the voting ID needed in the first place there were no massive voting frauds found in Wisconsin? Don't you think there are more important things going in our country and state that we should focus on? Why do they care so much about this subject? I think the republicans need to focus on more important things like raising taxes, bettering our public schools, feeding the hungry, fixing roads, creating and sustaining jobs, things that are needed to fix now, before they get worse. Plus, if they were free(which I doubt they are), where would we get the money to pay for that? This is just a ploy to get our attention away from their promises. And two weeks ago, I went to see my state senator, Senator Carpenter, and the Democrats are focused on trying to stop the Republicans in their tracks. They understand what's important, we discussed issues that we'd rather have the state focus on. But getting back to my argument, many low-income families, such as mine, don't have hours to waste sitting in the DMV, we have to work and other more important things. Any hours we get free from work are spent on sleeping,eating, using the bathroom, taking a shower, buying groceries, cleaning, cooking, or basically taking care of our family. Plus, you have to get it renewed every so often and I don't get why we can't use student ID's, that's just nonsense. The whole thing is nonsense and a ploy to distract us from what's imporant and what really needs to get done in our cities, state, and nation.
More important things than making sure our elections are on the up and up there are no more important things and certainly " raising taxes " as you put it is not one of them
Wow, how do you find time to vote between taking showers and going to the bathroom.? Yep, next time my drivers license needs renewed, the heck with it, I'm too busy taking a shower and going to the bathroom. I might need a nap.
@Sandra - how can you survive without a picture ID? New jobs require it. Banks require it. Buying cigarettes and alcohol requires it. Using a debit card or credit card in some places requires a picture ID. Write a check - you have to show a picture ID. ID needed for just about everything. Heck - even if you win a prize at a radio station you need a picture ID to pick it up. The excuses you gave are just that - excuses. There is no reason to not have voter ID. Other states have it without any problems. Why would it be a problem here?
The only reason a person would not have an ID is because they have a criminal lifestyle. Everyone is right. You need an ID to get a real job, cash checks, open bank accounts, fly on planes, by controlled substances. Sometimes I need one to pick up an Rx. Even going to see a doctor. I'm traveling overseas right now -- No way I could do this without a passport.
Well,it's not saying that it comes with your state ID, if that's the case, then I have not as many problems with this, but as someone stated that many states already have this law. As we all know, or as I hope we all know, what problems one state has, another state might not have that problem. Wisconsin has no problem with voter fraud, so why use money, time, and resouces we don't have enforcing this? I mean, it's kind of silly, I think we're all old enough to know not to fraud the government. And I have a college ID, which has my picture on it, they should include student id's too. I don't see the problem, especially since most students live on campus and are all registered in the school's system. I don't know your schedual David, but I have seven siblings and my mom is a single mom and works anywhere from 40 or more hours per week and she commutes for an hour, so I think it's kind of challenging taking care of all those children, working, and doing other important things moms do. Of course I help, but I also go to college full time and work. And no, I don't go to some crap college like Everest or Kaplan College, I go to Carroll University in Waukesha. So, I know that many lower income hispanics where I live, work just as hard as my family and doesn't have time to be waiting to just take a picture for a voter ID. So, I don't know the details of this, but if I have to get another ID, I'm going to be mad and having to renew ID's every so often takes a toll on my small budget. Just on my student ID I spent $30 because they ware out. If you would like to buy my ID's when they expire or ware out, be my guest. Like they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Student IDs should be allowed. Employee ID badges should be allowed such as those who work for the phone company or electric company, or hospital. A lot of employers require you to wear your ID card. But if someone is just too busy to get an ID they are probably too buy to vote. We do need voter ID because voting is a big deal. Fraud isn't a big problem but a lot of people resent those who do vote illegally and want it stopped.
I get where you're trying to come from, but as this article states, we can't use our student ID's. Of course there will always be, no matter what, people trying to fraud the government and get past the loopholes in the government. Our security systems will never be good enough to keep all the people who commit fraud out, thinking that is idealisitic. You probably don't want to hear this, but voter fraud will always be there, just like every other kind of crime, we don't live in a perfect society. I get that people want justice, but voting fraud usually gets caught anyway. It's just like running a business and expecting your employees to steal, or customers to steal, it's a sad reality, which won't change, unless people change. And let me tell you, people don't like changing.
Ah, how easy for someone who probably doesn't pay any taxes to suggest it's time raise taxes. It's so refreshing to hear from those who don't contribute to the money being spent.
Didn't I just hear Herb Kohl say that people with wealth should be paying more taxes? On the 28th he said "I'm here to advocate raising taxes on Herb Kohl."
This is definitely out of character for the typical wealthy person. Just about every one of them took a far bigger hit (dollarwise) in the recent bank crisis set-back than any of us lower class working slobs did. But even he can see that raising taxes on the very people that he made his money from while sparing his own kind is just killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
Can't take an advance on all the future golden eggs, anyway, you got to wait for it!
I don't have a problem raising taxes on people who make $10 million plus a year. Repeat, make $10 million, not just have $10 million. A lot of millionaires have no taxable income.
Here in Waukesha County the average working family is probably making $100k to $250k per year. They don't need their taxes raised. Many are millionaires but not multi-millionaires. There is a difference. Just about everyone is technically a millionaire these days when you add up homes, cars, 401ks, IRAs, vested pensions, investments, etc.
But the idea is not to give money to the government because they are not good money managers. They just end up redistributing it to the lazyites who have chosen not to be wealth creators.
I think that if your income is higher than you need and then some, you should be taxed more then low-income people. But I know that the working class are not lazy, some might be, just like the upper and middle classes have lazy people. I don't think anyone should generalize or sterotype any people, it's just wrong. Many people, like my mom, were taken out of school by her parents when she was a freshman in high school, when she was in high school, because back then you could get a good job without one. She had a poor family and it's challenging to get out of a place like that because her whole family depended on her income until she was twenty-two, working all hours, everyday. But I think that the wealthy people and high income people were hit hard, and were hit by the recession. I also think that it's funny that everyone says recession, recession, things didn't change for me and many lower income families because we're always living in the "recession". If you guys want to pay less in taxes, be a huge corporation, or be lower income and see how easy it is to live that way, without government help. My family has help and I thank God everyday that the government helps us, because although we are a capitalist country, that shouldn't take away from our values of caring for one another and our humanity. The government taxes the rich because they have way more that they need. I commend them for their wealth, but that's no excuse not to help. But that's the problem with the world, we're only looking out for ourselves, forget about our neighbor and thier starving children, as long as I have what I want, I don't care about anyone else. THAT attitude needs to change, or humans will be very lonely soon and America will collapse. Or our government will be an oligarchy. I know this is kinda extreme, but ignorance needs to be taught and people need to open their eyes and see the light before it is too late. Of course there are flaws woth my statement, but I truely believe that many people are ignorant to the fact that working class people do work just as hard, if not, harder than othes in higher postions. And if you, David, think you can do a better job managing money in the government, run for office, nothing is stopping you unless you're under a certain age, which I doubt you are.