Voting Identification

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Recommended: Civic citizenship education

Voters should be made to present identification when they cast their ballots in elections for political offices, to prevent voting fraud, protect voting integrity, and increase confidence in the election process. If identification has to be presented for many everyday processes, it is not that much to ask to have identification to exercise such a huge right and responsibility as voting.
Today, you need to show some sort of identification to pay with a credit card, to board a plane, and to buy alcohol and tobacco, so why should you not have to show ID when voting? Showing an ID when voting prevents people from voting multiple times, voting for other people, and even voting for dead people. Voting fraud is especially important when races are so close. North Carolina had an infinitesimal rate of fraud of 0.00174% in 2013. When there is a voting fraud complaint, it is not taken seriously and hardly investigated. This is why requiring a photo ID decrease and hopefully eliminate voting fraud.
An argument against requiring show identification when voting is that it would reduce voter turnout, especially for minorities, but this is not true. A recent article stated, “A study by the University of Missouri in 2008 found that voter turnout in Indiana’s first election after its voter ID law went into effect actually increased. A similar study of the Brennan Center concluded that “concerns about voter identification laws affecting turnout are much ado about nothing,” finding that such laws had no effect on turnout, even across racial/ethnic/socio-economic strata.” A reason voter turn out increase in Indiana is because increasing the confidence in the

voting process in America encourages people to vote. Requiring people to show identifica...

... middle of paper ...

... in many cases one can get a government identification card for free. Maybe

the problem is effort needs to be put in to getting an ID card, if someone does not have the want to get an ID card they probably do not care about voting in the first place. These minority groups should be educated on how to obtain free ID cards and why they are needed to vote. Education can help increase voting turn out among minorities and they will know how to get an identification card.
Identification when voting is important to protect American’s right to vote, it is not put into laws to discriminate or cause disfranchisement but for protection. IDs protect against voting fraud and are easily obtained so there should no excuse. These laws have to be enforced to have a real purpose and to enable American’s to have the peace of mind about the voting system that elects their leaders.

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