Trump's chances of winning Wisconsin just got lower

[Adam Griffin]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

'Large portion of society?'

There are over 240 million Americans with a valid driver's license. Only 185 million Americans voted. This is a complete non-issue. And I'm not even counting other forms of valid picture ID.

10% to 15% of the adult citizen population, depending on the state; the percentages are larger in the South for very obvious reasons.

In the Deep South, large pluralities/majorities of those without valid photo IDs are poor & older black voters - at the same time that one-quarter or more of all black adult citizens lack a valid photo ID, so...the notion that "Seriously?" is pushing in a coded fashion (that all black people swing by the liquor store after picking up a pack of smokes and some watermelon, so what's the big deal about showing ID?) is nothing but mere stereotyping.

Also, the assumption you seem to be making here doesn't make the point you seem to think it does: there are millions of people who vote/have voted without ID, and there are millions of people who have ID and don't vote.

[Adam Griffin]

It's also worth noting that I'd have no problem whatsoever with voter ID if the federal government (which is the only way it'd get done in a uniform and reliable fashion; not because I just love federal government) would take charge and disperse them to every citizen via mail, as some have already suggested.

There is no inherent need for it to be a "photo ID". The only way in which that gets done is to use the pre-existing system of inconvenience (requiring people to visit a government office in order to have their picture taken; costs money, takes up time and requires people who largely don't have driver's licenses to find a way to commute the distance - those are largely the obstacles for many who don't have them currently).

Create a single database that elections officials and precinct workers use to mark off voters as they vote on each Election Day. That ID cannot be used to vote on the same day anywhere else in the United States. It ensures "one person, one vote" is maintained regardless and the propensity for in-person voter fraud isn't going to be any more so than it is today (i.e.: virtually non-existent).

If a voter ID is lost, the likelihood of the person finding it trying to vote with it is so ridiculously low that it's not even worth consideration, and there aren't going to be mass numbers of people trying to generate fake IDs (the genuine IDs can be made with various forms of security/anti-counterfeit measures included quite easily) across dozens or hundreds of precincts and driving to each on Election Day...which would be the only option for widescale fraud by an individual; it's not as if the poll workers wouldn't notice the same person coming into the same precinct multiple times on Election Day trying to vote with different voter IDs.

[Adam Griffin]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I have helped a minority lady obtain her photo ID after it was stolen from her. Again, this did not take long and I felt it was my civic duty to do what I could.

I used to be the equivalent for Uber in the community and would charge people 10 dollars a ride to get these sorts of things done.

What you're talking about and attributing to racism, I called a business opportunity, and I made a fair amount of money supplying that community with the convenience of riding in an automobile for the price they were willing to pay, with a trusted driver and a car in good condition.

So, again - if you had 10 bucks on you, you could get it done in an afternoon, even if you had no access to public transit or to a car. And this was in the days before Uber.

I'm sorry, I've lived in the South. That dog ain't gonna hunt.

I'm sorry, but Texas isn't the South. Furthermore, attributing your voluntary action on one occasion as a rebuttal of the problem at hand isn't one...and bragging about how you made and there's money to be made off of poor people who are going to have to spend even more money to get a required ID the first place - not to mention the time (whether paid or unpaid) - proves the point of why these laws exist in the first place.

[Adam Griffin]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Looks like the maximum distance is about 50 miles. Pretty good coverage, IMO.

So, let's post a map that actually illustrates concisely where there are no driver's license services, instead of a misleading one that shows all services and makes it look like less of a problem. Disproportionately, it is the Black Belt counties that have had their license offices shut down. The official argument is that these areas are poorer and have less tax revenue. No sh**t. So let's require a government ID in order to vote and ensure the people who have the hardest time obtaining them have to go further than everybody else in order to get it, instead of chalking it up to the cost of doing business within the arcane parameters that they've established. It is strategic, and not seeing that is clearly indicative of hackery.

You say "you've lived in the South", but at the same time, seem to think that the overwhelming majority of predominately black, poorer and rural people can just hop into a vehicle and drive 50 miles like it's nothing. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were approaching this from a completely different mindset! If they could, they'd likely already have a license. Not having a license is indicative of not having reliable transportation and/or the funds/documentation necessary to get one. I'm wondering if your previous argument holds up: would you drive someone 50 miles + gas for $10?

Let's just assume that have access to reliable transportation. Maybe they decide to drive illegally to the DMV, or maybe someone takes them. We'll say $5 - $10 for fuel, and a 4-year license is $36.50. We're getting awfully close to $50 already. Hopefully, you don't need a birth certificate, which is another $15 in Alabama. There's a less than insignificant segment of those without driver's licenses who are in the situation because they don't have birth certificates. In another 10 years or so, they won't be a problem for the most part, but they still are today.

10% of whites don't have a photo ID.
25% of blacks don't have a photo ID.
10% of whites are in poverty.
25% of blacks are in poverty.

Most people have a photo ID. The ones that do not have them, don't have them for very specific reasons and because of limitations that most people would consider mere inconveniences to be shrugged off. This isn't rocket science. Anecdotal experiences and bootstrap arguments don't solve the problem, as they hardly ever do: poverty is the determining factor.