Voter ID. It's about time!

Voter ID: It's about time!

Conservatives in our state assembly and Senate are finally on a fast-track to passing voter ID. I say conservatives are on a fast-track to passing it, because liberals are adamantly opposed. For this blog entry, I am going to focus on liberal objections to this bill.

Liberals state that African-Americans, poor people and students will be disenfranchised if this bill becomes law. The reason? It is too expensive to obtain a photo identification card. According to Eugene Kane, columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there are approximately 80,000 people in Milwaukee County who have suspended or revoked drivers licenses. He goes on to say that a higher percentage of African-Americans and Latinos do not carry an official photo ID.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/121680058.html

Mr. Kane is suggesting that this is racism, but Mr. Kane is always suggesting racism.

So, let's examine the cost aspect of obtaining a photo identification. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website, and original identification card costs $28 and is good for eight years. That breaks down to a cost of $3.50 per year. 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/drivers/driver-fees.htm#identification

Liberals state that poor cannot afford a $28 identification card. So, let's take a look at what it would cost for the average person to go vote assuming they don't have a car. They would either have to take the bus, or a taxicab. I decided to check rates on taxicab fare in the city of Milwaukee. 

http://yellowcabmilwaukee.com/ratesreservations/

According to the site, the cost for taking a taxi is $2.75 for the first one 10th of a mile and $.25 for each additional one 10th of a mile. There is also a charge of $.35 per each 1 min. of waiting time. I went on the city of Milwaukee website and searched for voting locations. I plugged in an address of 1815 N. 33rd St. and did a search for the voting location for that ward. It came back with an address of 1945 N. 31st St., which is the Westside Academy. I then went on RAND McNally.com and plugged in those addresses. According to RAND McNally, it is 3/10 of a mile. That means to take a taxi to vote would cost $3.25 one way. If you have the driver wait for you, the round trip would cost four dollars not including the time that the driver would have to wait for you. If you could get in and out in 10 minutes, that would be an additional $3.50 for a grand total of $7.50.

That is the lowest estimate that I could come up with. Now, assuming the person votes in both the primary and the general election, and votes in every major election which we have every two years, it would cost $15 each voting year. Over that same eight-year period of time that a photo ID is good for, it would cost a person $60 in taxi fare to go vote, which is twice the cost of the photo ID card. I realize that some people will walk, but many won't. That means that poor, the students and the minorities can afford the transportation cost involved in getting to vote, but can't afford the ID according to liberals. That just doesn't make sense.

Now let's put the requirements for identification into perspective. If I decide that I want to go catch a fish, under state law I am required to get a license to fish. According to the Department of natural resources website, an annual fishing license for an adult costs $20. That's important to remember. It costs $20 per year to have fishing license, but only $3.50 per year to have a photo ID. 

Http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/cs/restypes.asp

According to the Department of natural resources online licensing Center, a nonresident can set up a customer account using their Social Security number and date of birth. A resident can set up an account using their drivers license, Social Security number and date of birth. If you are a resident of Wisconsin and do not have a drivers license, you will need to visit an agent location to provide proof of residency. So, not only am I required to obtain a license to fish, I also have to provide proof of residency in order to obtain that fishing license.

What happens if you are caught fishing without a license? 

http://www.wisbar.org/res/capp/2008/2008ap000373.htm

In the case of Barry J Smith, Sr, his fine was $188.20, and in his case he purchased a fishing license in July of 2006 and it expired in March of 2007. Mr. Smith believed that he had a 12 month license, but in reality this license expired on March 31 because according to the Department of natural resources, no matter when you purchase your fishing license expires on March 31.

My point in bringing this up is to show just how much we regulate certain things in Wisconsin. You have to have a license to catch a fish. Let me say that again. You have to have a license to catch a fish. Liberals are okay with all of this, but have a problem with the person having to provide the same information to vote. Call me crazy, but I think voting is slightly more important than catching a fish.