Seamus Dunne February 14, 2013 Professor Milberger Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric A Right Threatened Freedom of religion.

Freedom of speech. Universal suffrage. All three of the aforementioned rights once corresponded with being an American. Recently, however, one of those rights has come under fire and is facing restriction. Currently, thirty states in America require some form of voter identification, either photo or non-photo, in order for individuals to be permitted to vote. Whether or not someone has a valid form of identification is irrelevant to being franchised in America, for, as the Fifteenth Amendment states the right to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State. Ideally, no type of personal verification would be required in order to vote, but it appears as if the country is headed that way. Since roughly eleven percent of the American voting population does not have any form of formal photo identification; a better solution must be found to correct this wrong that some Americans are currently being subjected to. There has been much debate over this issue. Proponents of the photo identification for voting movement cite voter fraud as the reason why certain steps must be taken to ensure that voters are who they say they are. Though voter fraud certainly is both a crime and a problem, is it a problem that is worth the attention that it is receiving? According to the Tucson Sentinel, from 2007, 120 cases have been filed to the Justice Department over five years. These cases, many of which stemmed from mistakenly filled registration forms or misunderstanding over voter

eligibility, resulted in 86 convictions. Out of the tens of millions of votes cast in major elections in this country, are 86 instances of fraud really worth the measures of restriction that are being taken? To me, this seems like much ado about nothing. With all the actual problems facing this country (unemployment rate, rising debt, political gridlock in Washington) is this really worth our attention? These laws are not only unconstitutional, they also are targeted at a specific demographic. According to the Tucson Sentinel, the proposed laws would affect, elderly, minority and low-income groups that tend to vote Democratic. From that information, its not difficult to understand the real motivation behind these laws. Even as a Republican, I realize that this is an attempt by the party to limit the number of potential Democratic voters. Its embarrassing that a major American democratic party is essentially denying people from doing their civic duty. There are currently three types of voter verification being used in certain states across America. These methods include: strict photo, photo, and non-photo identification. The National Conference of State Legislatures website defines the differences between strict and non-strict photo identification as, In the "strict" states, a voter cannot cast a valid ballot without first presenting ID. Similarly, the website defines the difference between photo and non-photo identification as, voters who fail to show photo ID are given a provisional ballot and must eventually show photo ID in order to get that provisional ballot counted. Do these courses of action seem like a rational response to a problem that really does not exist? This infringement on our right to vote is not only unconstitutional; it is also a waste of time and resources.

To solve the problem of voter ID fraud, a certain type of technology must be implemented in order to both be affective, and to not infringe on fundamental American rights. My solution is simple, constitutional, and painless. First before someone is about to enter the voting booth, that person must sign an affidavit stating that they are who they say they are. Then they have to take a photo of their face, which would then be stored into a computerized database. Facial recognition technology would detect any person trying to commit voter fraud and, because they had previously signed the affidavit, offenders would then be subject to criminal punishment. Through this, the people calling for some type of verification process are appeased and our rights are still protected. Though this problem should not really even be discussed, I feel that this course of action would pave the way for a fair and rational solution to voter fraud. Then all voting Americans will again be permitted to practice one of their natural rights.

Sources: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/072312_voter_id/everythingyouve-ever-wanted-know-voter-id-laws/

http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/aug/10/marcia-fudge/repmarcia-fudge-says-11-percent-eligible-voters-l/