Kan. proof-of-citizenship law targeting fraud puts voting rights in limbo for 15,000 residents

[Igel]

17. Wanted to be outraged.

Have this rule for myself: Prior to outrage, first get facts. Never assume that an advocacy article is going to provide the facts for understanding, just the facts for producing outrage.

So in Kansas the law was passed in 2011.

Drivers license or state ID is good.

Concealed weapons permit.

Birth certificate or passport is good.

A photo ID issued by a state or government agency is good--so if you work for the government, you're in.

A student photo ID issued by a certified post-secondary educational institution is also good.

A government public assistance ID is good. Got SNAP? You're in.

And the list continues.

The list continues.

I pity the guy who manages to have none of these. They're not going to be very common.

As for the claim that it's going to disenfranchise those whose DL and address don't match. Sorry, you have a DL you're required to keep the address updated. That's usually the law.

And if you really can't find anything because they're all irretrievably lost or never existed, there's a process to request the state elections board to consider you a citizen for voting purposes. If you're incapacitated, a letter, a form, and some corroborating documents would probably do the trick. (Guaranteed? No. But until you try, saying that it would obviously not succeed so it's a waste of time is just an excuse for inaction.)

I seriously have trouble believing that those 15000 since 1/1/13 all lack any ID. However, just as the article says birth certificate, passport, or "other document" (for example, a college ID or DL), so also it doesn't say those 15k don't have those documents. Just that they haven't presented them.

And while this requirement isn't in place across most of the country, 11 states have laws on the books with 7 of them waiting to be implemented. And another 8 have photo ID but presenting it every time you vote isn't a requirement. (That's as of 4/10. I suspect the # of states might have increased by one or two since then.)

i'm less outraged than I would have been. Now I need to see how many people are actually disenfranchised, not just mildly inconvenienced by having to actually take the time to present IDs that they have or can find in a few minutes.