The Myth of Voter ID Difficulties

Instead of helping people vote, or take advantage of the many benefits that government ID can provide, the left instead wants to use them as examples.  Whether it is Viviette Applewhite  the plaintiff in the anti-ID case in Pennsylvania who obtained an ID during the trial or one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case Crawford v. Marion County who actually had a Florida ID, the left is much more interested in making political points than helping voters.

The latest trumped up charge is rebutted by Don Palmer, a speaker at our National Election Law Seminar next week and Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections:

While the experience at the DMV often includes a commitment of time and effort, the experience of Ann Trapani may not have been necessary at all. Elderly voters over the age of 70 who are initially replacing their driver’s license are eligible for a free Commonwealth ID that can be obtained in an online transaction with no additional documentation and mailed to the citizen.

There is another option available for elderly voters who may not need a driver’s license and do not have other acceptable forms of photo ID for voting purposes. The voter may simply request a free voter photo ID from their local general registrar (or satellite office) that are located in each of Virginia’s 133 localities. As with voting or registering to vote, those voters with an inability to read, write or fully complete a form due to a disability or other impairment, may receive assistance from election officials or other person in completing the process. The photo ID application form is also online and accessible to visually disabled voters with text-to-speech enabled internet browsers. . . . General registrars and [sic] ready to assist voters with special needs, just as they do with the voting experience, testing and setting up accessible voting equipment or curbside voting.

The technical capability to produce free photo IDs will have a mobile functionality that will allow election officials to assist in the community upon request and provide registration and other services to voters and organizations. . . . . All that is required to produce the free voter photo ID is a picture of the registered voter, a signature and the voter photo ID is quickly processed and sent by mail to the voter. For those facing rapidly approaching deadlines, a temporary voter photo ID is available to voters.

The Elections Department will continue to produce free photo IDs for voters out of our office in Richmond, and with outreach to retirement facilities, aging or nursing homes and continuing care communities. There is a dedicated accessibility coordinator to facilitate this process for elderly or disabled voters who need a free photo ID and other important voting services. State officials will partner with the 133 general registrar offices to provide photo ID services to the elderly or voters with disabilities in their respective communities.

We only wish other government services were this easy and convenient.  It is unfortunate that those on the left would rather play politics than help people.  Fortunately most election officials, unlike liberals seeking biased news coverage, want to help.