Re:Utah voting system fending off 1B hacking attempts per day
by Mountain_Skies on Saturday July 07, 2018 @07:40PM
(#17481294)
All of the drivers license offices in the city limits of Atlanta were shutdown at the same time Georgia enacted a photo ID requirement for voting. Though only a temporary situation, for a period of time anyone living in the city who wanted an ID was required to hike out to the suburbs.
The state responded to criticisms of how difficult it could be for some to get an ID even if offered for free by having a bus travel around the state with the state issued ID issuing facilities available on the bus. That program was poorly funded, the bus often broke down, and usage was very low. Think they ended up doing away with the bus. The city of Atlanta eventually did get a new drivers license center and photo IDs are available free of charge to those who fill out an affidavit stating they cannot afford the ID fee.
It's difficult to know how much fraudulent voting takes place. I'd like it better if there were photo ID requirements in place but if we're going to do that, the process for obtaining such an ID must be made orders of magnitude easier. For those in rural areas, getting to the county seat can be a challenge. Polling places are much more widespread than locations to obtain photo IDs. The added requirements of the Patriot Act for government IDs likely has made this situation even worse.
Photo IDs are useful for many purposes beyond voting. I don't want to have a society in which one must carry a photo ID at all times but I'd also like to live in one where anyone can easily obtain one. Seems like this is the real problem that needs to be solved.
The state responded to criticisms of how difficult it could be for some to get an ID even if offered for free by having a bus travel around the state with the state issued ID issuing facilities available on the bus. That program was poorly funded, the bus often broke down, and usage was very low. Think they ended up doing away with the bus. The city of Atlanta eventually did get a new drivers license center and photo IDs are available free of charge to those who fill out an affidavit stating they cannot afford the ID fee.
It's difficult to know how much fraudulent voting takes place. I'd like it better if there were photo ID requirements in place but if we're going to do that, the process for obtaining such an ID must be made orders of magnitude easier. For those in rural areas, getting to the county seat can be a challenge. Polling places are much more widespread than locations to obtain photo IDs. The added requirements of the Patriot Act for government IDs likely has made this situation even worse.
Photo IDs are useful for many purposes beyond voting. I don't want to have a society in which one must carry a photo ID at all times but I'd also like to live in one where anyone can easily obtain one. Seems like this is the real problem that needs to be solved.