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WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted on H.R. 4844, legislation to require all voters to provide government-issued identification in order to vote in the 2008 election and proof of citizenship in order to vote in the 2010 election. In Oregon, voters would have to mail in photocopies of the required documentation in order to receive a ballot. It is unclear how, and at what cost to tax-payers, each and every copy would be verified. Without Congressman Wu's support, H.R. 4844 passed the U.S. House by a vote of 228 to 196.
"H.R. 4844 places an unconstitutional burden on every American citizen, and does nothing to address the integrity of elections," said Congressman Wu. "We should instead focus our efforts on increasing voter participation by encouraging all Americans to participate in the democratic process."
Given the costs and difficulty of obtaining documents, H.R. 4844 amounts to a “poll tax” by requiring otherwise qualified voters to essentially pay a fee as a condition of voting, in violation of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Instead of increasing voter participation, H.R. 4844 will only skew election results by removing countless eligible voters from the process.
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Proof of citizenship may be impossible for some people to obtain, and very hard for others. Getting a photo ID, such as drivers’ licenses and passports or a birth certificate costs money and time.
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According to the Department of Bureau of Consular Affairs, only 25-27% of eligible Americans have passports, which now cost $97.
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A birth certificate usually costs $10 to $15.
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Naturalization papers, if they are lost or damaged and need to be replaced cost $210.
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Minorities, people with disabilities, the elderly, students, and people who live in poverty are among the groups least likely to have documents to prove they are U.S. citizens. In certain parts of the country, for example, elderly African Americans and many Native Americans were born at home, under the care of midwives, and do not possess birth certificates.
Even if they have photo ID, many eligible voters will be turned away.
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For the states that use polls, Photo ID requirements place an inordinate amount of discretion in the hands of overworked (and usually unpaid) poll workers. Deciding whether a voter matches or does not match the photo on an ID card – which can often be many years old – is a very subjective process.
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If an ID card such as a driver’s license does not contain the voter’s current address which is true of millions of Americans, especially students or frequent movers, he or she is likely to be turned away from the polls.
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