Everyone dreams for that time when the elections will be of integrity, free and fair. There has been a lot of debate whether the voter ID laws are the solution or not. All Americans can freely acquire the photo IDs even though some may get it easier than others depending on the requirements, the type of documents they possess and the cost they incur but this does not raise the idea of unfair discrimination. Voter IDs are important because they deter fraud, protect the rights of the voters and improve the trust of the voters during an election.
Voter IDs are important because they can deter fraud during elections and the election centers. There are different forms of election fraud and impersonation has been happening and likely to happen in future if voter identification is not supported. Impersonation fraud occurs in case there are votes “from dead people, illegal aliens, people with false addresses and even Mickey Mouse” (Thomas). It would be easy to catch people who illegally vote using the voter identification compared to when it is not used. Most people claim that there is no voter fraud but there are different cases that have been reported and the victims convicted. For instance, in 2013, Melowese Richardson was sentenced to five years in prison for voting for Obama multiple times in Ohio” (Flows).
Voter IDs are important because they protect the rights of the voters. Citizens should show valid IDs when voting to reduce the number of illegal votes. Those who counter check the photo IDs should be able to differentiate a valid and invalid ID so that some people do not take advantage of the situation. This requirement “strengthens voters’ rights by protecting the votes of all who vote legally” (Flows). All the people who legally live in the country need a photo ID and the government freely offer to them. Apart from voting, people still need to produce photo ID or documents when they are 25 years and above and when they would like to enroll for some government services and want to own property among others. Voting ID is no different as its purpose is to be used to identify whether the voter is legal or illegal.
Voter IDs will improve the voter’s trust in the election process and results which may consequently increase the voter turnout. Legal votes are weakened by the illegal ones and this makes the results of the results unfair. The production of the voter ID would reduce cases of fraud and this will increase the integrity of the election results and transparency of the process. Considering this, people would be more willing to vote because they will be able to trust what goes on during the elections and instead of reducing the turnout as most of the people claim, it will improve it.
Everybody in the country can freely obtain the voting IDs. The government does not want to restrict a particular group from voting but want to ensure that elections are of integrity and to influence fair democracy. This would be possible if all people show their IDs as they vote because only the legal voters would be allowed in every election.
Works Cited
Flows, Capital. "Voter ID Would Protect Voter's Rights, Not Inhibit Them". Forbes, 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/09/03/voter-id-would-protect-voters-rights-not-inhibit-them/#7eeb7eab7ea0. Accessed 17 Nov 2018.
Thomas, Cal. "“To ID or Not To ID”". The Marietta Daily Journal, 2016, https://www.mdjonline.com/opinion/cal-thomas-to-id-or-not-to-id/article_a4e3da3c-6987-11e6-a451-cbb6d481054a.html. Accessed 17 Nov 2018.
