House Republicans reportedly are drafting a new version of the voter ID bill that would allow voters to show a voter registration card in lieu of a valid photo ID.
As I have written before, a voter registration card is an inadequate means of establishing identity. The proposal would apparently require two poll workers to determine if the signature provided at the polls matches the signature on the registration card.
Even if the signatures match, this doesn’t mean the person is eligible to vote (it is easy to get voter registration cards) nor does it prevent people from voting in multiple locations.
Further, the idea of training poll workers to make such decisions is a nightmare, as would be the inevitable problems of having poll workers being the gatekeepers as to who can vote. This type of system would be conducive to abuse because of the subjective nature of determining what signatures match.
This “compromise” is supposed to appease groups that object to requiring photo IDs, but as the article suggests (and as common sense would tell us), nothing will persuade those are who making the “poll tax” type of arguments that have been thoroughly debunked.
The Republicans should stick to their guns and push a photo ID bill. Allowing a voter registration card would make this a pointless bill, and would kill a voter ID bill this session.
