[Vision2020] Legislative Newsletter X--March 12-19, 2010

Sat Mar 20 15:55:22 PDT 2010

There is also the problem of a "pole tax " and the US Constitution:

"The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, outlawed the use of the poll  
tax (or any other tax) as a pre-condition in voting in Federal  
elections. The 1966 Supreme Court case Harper v. Virginia Board of  
Elections extended this explicit enactment as a matter of judicial  
interpretation of a more general provision, ruling that the imposition  
of a poll tax in state elections violated the Equal Protection Clause  
of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Harper  
ruling was one of several that rely on the Equal Protection Clause of  
the 14th Amendment rather than the more direct provision of the 15th  
Amendment. In a two-month period in the spring of 1966, the last four  
states to still charge a poll tax laws had those laws declared  
unconstitutional by Federal courts, starting with Texas on 9 February.  
Decisions followed for Alabama (3 March) and Virginia (25 March).  
Mississippi's $2.00 poll tax was the last to fall, declared  
unconstitutional on 8 April 1966, by a Federal panel in Jackson, Miss."

Now, it's not a far stretch going from a pole tax to a mandatory photo  
ID that you "buy" from the state in order to vote, so I'm sure that  
this would lead to a constitutional lawsuit.
I have no problems with a photo ID IF it's provided at no cost to the  
voter.

The first election I was able to vote in was back home in  
Pennsylvania, and there, when you registered to vote, you got a voter  
registration card.

On Mar 20, 2010, at 2:03 PM, Gary Crabtree wrote:

> Nothing be wrong. Registration procedures would need to be modified  
> to include verification of citizenship however. Same day  
> registration would have to go.
>
> Personally, I'd be just fine with a poll tax. Heck, I'd be fine with  
> raising the voting age to 35, limiting it to property owners, and  
> instituting a mandatory quiz of all voters to make sure they have a  
> fundamental grasp of the issues beyond the basic "Yippee!, let's  
> take money from those who earn it and redistribute it to those who  
> don't paradigm." Unfortunately, my point of view is not yet widely  
> held.
>
> g
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Wayne Price" <bear at moscow.com>
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 11:15 AM
> To: "the lockshop" <lockshop at pull.twcbc.com>
> Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Legislative Newsletter X--March 12-19, 2010
>
>> For what it's worth, What be wrong with a photo voter registration
>> card provided FREE upon registration?
>>
>> Having to pay for a photo ID from the state, although minimal in  
>> cost,
>> starts to look like a "pole tax".
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 20, 2010, at 9:52 AM, the lockshop wrote:
>>
>>> I am of two minds on this one. I dispise the idea of present on  
>>> demand
>>> identity documents but I approve of the idea of making sure that
>>> those who
>>> attempt to vote actually are entitled to the priviledge. Idaho makes
>>> available a photo ID card for a very minimal fee $20.00 for 8 years)
>>> No one
>>> is forced to obtain such a document, you simply pass on the option  
>>> of
>>> exersizing your franchise if you decide to decline. The same as you
>>> do if
>>> you fail to register. I'm not sure that this is an overly onerous
>>> burdon to
>>> place on Idaho citizens.
>>>
>>> g
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Paul Rumelhart" <godshatter at yahoo.com>
>>> To: <ttrail at moscow.com>
>>> Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:24 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Legislative Newsletter X--March 12-19,  
>>> 2010
>>>
>>>
>>>> Thank you for the update, I have some comments about one of the  
>>>> bills
>>>> that was voted on:
>>>>
>>>> Rep. Tom Trail wrote:
>>>>> 2.   Voter ID Bill  --  HB496 passed the house on a 64-6 vote.
>>>>> The bill
>>>>> would require voters to show photo ID at the polls before they  
>>>>> vote.
>>>>> One of my concerns is that the Secretary of State reports that
>>>>> there do
>>>>> not appear to be any major problems with voter fraud in Idaho.  In
>>>>> one
>>>>> sense this is a solution in search of a problem.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Doesn't this disenfranchise voters that simply don't drive?   
>>>> Having a
>>>> form of photo ID is not a requirement of a citizen of this country,
>>>> as
>>>> far as I can tell.  So why make it a requirement for voting?
>>>> Especially
>>>> if it is a solution in search of a problem.
>>>>
>>>> What do you do if you don't have a driver's license, aren't a
>>>> member of
>>>> the military, or don't work for an organization that gives out  
>>>> photo
>>>> IDs?  Do you have to go through the process of getting a passport
>>>> just
>>>> so you can vote?  That seems a bit extreme.
>>>>
>>>> It also seems like a step down the road towards a "papers, please"
>>>> style
>>>> of government that I would rather do without.
>>>>
>>>> Paul
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>        mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>> =======================================================
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>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>              http://www.fsr.net
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>

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