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PROTECTING CITIZENS’ RIGHT TO VOTE – REQUIRING ID AT THE POLL



Ginny Speaks on the Need for Photo ID at the Polls

 

Washington, D.C., Sep 22 -

For decades people in the United States have had to show a photo ID when they pay with a check or credit card, drive, purchase alcohol or cigarettes, travel, and apply for Social Security  and Medicare.  Yet absent from this list is voting.  One of the most important things any American will do is vote, but there are no safeguards in place to verify an individual’s identity when deciding the fate of our great nation.  Thankfully, the House of Representatives voted to change this absurdity this week when we passed H.R. 4844, the Federal Election Integrity Act.

This bill will require everyone who votes to show a photo ID in the 2008 and future elections.  Another provision in this legislation will require that voters show an ID that verifies U.S. citizenship.  States will be required to set up programs to distribute these IDs and provide them at no cost to the indigent.  Therefore, the baseless claim that this bill would disenfranchise low-income voters clearly holds no merit since the legislation explicitly provides that States will provide these IDs.  Those who chose to make this bill a partisan political maneuver used fear tactics by leading Americans to believe that they would not be able to vote if they could not afford a photo ID. 

The need to pass the Federal Election Integrity Act comes at a time when the number of illegal aliens populating this country is through the roof.  Those who are in this country illegally want the same rights as United States citizens without obeying the laws of our land.  I refuse to let these criminals defraud our election system and allow them to vote in federal elections.

I am certain that our founding fathers never intended for non-U.S. citizens to have the right to vote.  Yet, the current law easily permits this practice.  The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and it is important that we protect this freedom.  I was proud to speak on the House floor and vote in favor of the Federal Election Integrity Act and am hopeful the Senate will act on this measure expediently.

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© 2005 Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite. All Rights Reserved.