What do you think about people who's voter registration doesn't match?
By thedogshrink
@thedogshrink (1266)
United States
November 3, 2008 9:25pm CST
What does everyone think? If your voter registration doesn't match your ID/current info, should you be allowed to vote anyway? If you're willing, also say who you support -- Just wondering if there is a difference based on candidate.
I
think the laws/rules that have always been in place should remain. If someone thinks they should be changed, they should attempt to have it changed during NON-election times. Now, at the time of an election is NOT the time to change the rules.
To my knowledge, it's always been that you cannot vote if your info doesn't match. I moved from one county to another in July. I HAD to correct my address with voter registration. The rule said if my move is within 30 days of the election I could vote in my old precinct. If my move was more than 30 days old and I had not changed my information, then I could NOT vote.
So why should someone who did not bother be allowed to still vote??
Oh, in case anyone had not noticed, I voted for McCain.
3 people like this
7 responses
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
4 Nov 08
The exact matching that's being challenged isn't whether your ID matches your current voter registration - i.e., did you change your address? It's a new policy in place in many states that challenge voter registrations that aren't exact matches to either DMV records or Social Security records. Those rules throw out voter registrations that don't exactly match information in either the Social Security database or the DMV database. If that ruling had held up in Ohio, for instance, Joe the Plumber's registration would have been challenged because his last name was misspelled in the voter registration records. I'd probably be challenged because I almost never use my middle initial, so probably didn't put it on my voter registration card - but it is on my Social Security records. If you live in a state that is using that kind of database matching, you could show up at the polls to find out that you aren't registered to vote, and have to cast a provisional ballot.
As far as ID having to match your current voter registration - I'm all for it, especially since it relies on human matching rather than computer matching. A -person- can make a reasoned decision on something like a missing middle initial or a misspelled last name - a computer not so much.
@thedogshrink (1266)
• United States
4 Nov 08
thanks for the clarification! I'm now not sure what I heard on the news, as they were definitely talking about what I posted! But your clarification makes more sense, and I agree that database system should be challenged. As my last name is an African name, like Obama's is, I have had my last name entered into so many systems incorrectly it's ridiculous.
So that is not fair, it's pushing people out on a technicality.
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
4 Nov 08
Thanks for the BR, thedogshrink 
Actually, I know that there are also some who dispute the requirement to present state-issued ID in order to vote, and that may be being challenged in court somewhere, but I haven't heard that it's got anything to do with exact matching.
I don't have an issue with requiring state-issued ID at the poll, though I know that it can be a problem for poor people. I didn't have state-issued ID for years because I didn't drive and didn't have a checking account, so had no need of it. The only ID I carried was issued by the local check cashing place. In Mass, you can get state ID at the RMV - it costs $25, and you need to present a birth certificate or passport, and either a form of picture ID or have a parent/guardian with you with THEIR picture ID and your birth certificate proving they're you're parent, as well as proof of address. Seriously, at 32 years of age, I had to take a train to Boston (where I was born) and pay $25 for my birth certificate, then have my mother drive 90 miles to go to the registry with me with her picture ID to swear that I was who I said I was in order to get my picture ID. And on a sidenote - Massachusetts used to issue photo IDs to anyone that got food stamps or any other welfare benefit. That ID was not accepted as picture ID at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, nor was it accepted by most banks or other state agencies. How ridiculous is that?
Actually, I know that there are also some who dispute the requirement to present state-issued ID in order to vote, and that may be being challenged in court somewhere, but I haven't heard that it's got anything to do with exact matching.
I don't have an issue with requiring state-issued ID at the poll, though I know that it can be a problem for poor people. I didn't have state-issued ID for years because I didn't drive and didn't have a checking account, so had no need of it. The only ID I carried was issued by the local check cashing place. In Mass, you can get state ID at the RMV - it costs $25, and you need to present a birth certificate or passport, and either a form of picture ID or have a parent/guardian with you with THEIR picture ID and your birth certificate proving they're you're parent, as well as proof of address. Seriously, at 32 years of age, I had to take a train to Boston (where I was born) and pay $25 for my birth certificate, then have my mother drive 90 miles to go to the registry with me with her picture ID to swear that I was who I said I was in order to get my picture ID. And on a sidenote - Massachusetts used to issue photo IDs to anyone that got food stamps or any other welfare benefit. That ID was not accepted as picture ID at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, nor was it accepted by most banks or other state agencies. How ridiculous is that?
@tamarrairs (54)
• United States
4 Nov 08
Update about stuff in GA!!
My boyfriend isn't from Ga. His last state issued i.d. came from North Carolina. I wasted about half of my gas trying to get him a voter i.d. card. The documentation that you have to have to prove that you are a georgia resident is ridiculous! All of the bills and leases that we have are in my name (i'm a very independent woman) so we couldn't come up with anything that we could use to verify his residency. Since the people at the DMV office were butt holes, I decided to call the Registar's office at my county's courthouse. I learned that all he needed was something that verified who he was! They said that as long as his NC i.d. was valid, he could use that! So we went to the polls and he voted using his old i.d. I think that the guidelines for voting and what you need are very unclear. However, I'm glad that he was able to vote (he would've been heart broken if he couldn't vote for Obama). I do hate the fact that I'm out of half a tank of gas though...
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I'm glad it worked out for your boyfriend, tamarrairs. See above for what I had to go through to prove my identity to get state ID a few years back.
@lvaldean (1612)
• United States
4 Nov 08
There is no reason why your government issued I.D. and your voter registration should not match. Apathy is the only logical reason these days.
It is very simply to apply for Government issued I.D., it doesn't have to be a Drivers License, only identification. Anyone who says that the lack of identification discriminates is pulling our collective leg. As to the voter registration this also is simple to obtain and once obtained simple to update.
There is no reason they should not match. Anyone who does not keep them current shows a lack of responsibility and should not be able to claim discrimination as the reason for their being barred from voting.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I know that some folks have said that the ID requirement discriminates against the poor who may not have government issued IDs but it is possible to get one so I don't see anything wrong with verifying identity and requiring that it be current. My county has the same rules and I had to take the time to change my name at the voter registration when I got married. I'm voting for Obama.
@thedogshrink (1266)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I agree. It is not hard for anyone, poor or not, to get a government issued ID.
@marianstallings (201)
• United States
5 Nov 08
I don't know. I live in the suburbs now and tried to vote where I live but I didn't know I had to change my address to vote where I lived. I was told to drive to my old neighborhood to vote and change the information while I was there, then by the next voting season it will be recorded and I can vote where I live. then.
I supported McCain and Palin.
@tamarrairs (54)
• United States
4 Nov 08
Here in Georgia, they have a program where a person can obtain a free voter i.d. card that has all the required information on it for a person to be able to vote. These can be made at a county court house or a GA Department of Motor Vehicles office. I see no reason why anyone in GA should not have proper i.d. to vote. If they were too lazy to get an i.d. then they don't deserve to vote. Most people down here have government issued i.d's anyway...
And I'm going to vote for OBAMA!!
@thedogshrink (1266)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I agree. That's a good program that GA has, to make it free. I keep hearing about lawsuits if they don't permit people to vote who have not got matching ID. I hope that doesn't happen -- it will just cause more upset among us all. It seems the Democrats think it will help them to allow these votes or so I heard. I'm not sure how it can help to have votes that aren't legal.
@mehale (2200)
• United States
4 Nov 08
I believe that the information should be required to match or they should not be allowed to vote. This would help greatly to cut down on voter fraud and solve many problems. I really think that it is the voter's responsibility to update their information and keep their registration current. They should not be allowed to vote if they do not!
