Today’s blog is by guest columnist and longtime friend, Kathleen Unger, the founder of VoteRiders, a
non-partisan, non-profit organization that informs and helps citizens to secure their voter ID and supports voter ID education at the local level. This essay appeared as an Op-Ed in Newsweek Magazine, March 16th.
Our nation's campaign season isn't just kicking off. It's
mid-swing. And as we get closer to an incredibly consequential
election day—one ultimately affecting local offices, state legislatures,
governorships, Congress and the Senate, and the office of the president—we must
recognize and address the storm on the horizon.
Many Americans are currently unequipped with what they need
to vote in states with voter ID laws, unprepared or confused by the nationwide
"REAL ID" switchover on October 1 that will affect their ability to
travel and fly, and facing uncertainty about how the spread of the novel
coronavirus may upset the primary process and election day.
Let's start with what we know for certain: many, many
Americans won't make themselves heard in the remaining caucuses and primaries,
let alone the presidential election, without a drastic intervention.
Roughly 40 million voting-age citizens—the combined
voting-eligible populations of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin—don't have a driver's license. Citizens disproportionately impacted,
and oftentimes disenfranchised, by voter ID laws are voters of color, students
(some states don't accept student IDs), people with disabilities, low-income
individuals, and older Americans. Collectively, this ID-less population
accounts for 11 percent of voters. An additional 9 percent—led astray by
ill-trained poll workers or non-existent state education campaigns—are refused
a ballot or stay home because they simply don't know what's needed to vote. All
told, up to one fourth of the country's electorate may lose the opportunity to
elect local, state, and national leaders.
Some might ask, ok, why not just get an ID? Well, here's
where everything gets even more confusing. Beginning October 1, 2020, everyone
who flies—nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population—must present a newly
required REAL ID license, or some other federally-issued identification like a
passport, before boarding a commercial aircraft. This new, nationwide deadline
goes into effect about a month before election day.
As of last fall per the U.S. Travel Association, 72 percent
of Americans don't have a REAL ID or are unsure if they have one and 39 percent
lack the permitted alternatives. To obtain a new REAL ID, you must visit the DMV
in-person with original or certified copies of certain government documents
showing name, date of birth, and social security number, in addition to
documents proving your residence. Americans who already have a driver's license
generally renew them online or by mail without submitting documentation and
must scramble to gather hard-to-find paperwork.
Securing identification, whether to vote or otherwise,
shouldn't be a byzantine undertaking. Nor should it be this confusing to
understand what you need in your wallet to vote or travel. But for many, it is.
My colleagues and I have heard countless stories from people about the
complications they encounter, such as traveling hundreds of miles to acquire
birth certificates and making repeat trips to agencies to ensure names match on
all documents (a complication disproportionately impacting married women who
have changed their name).
Now add COVID-19, or coronavirus, into this confusion.
Voters and travelers will be understandably concerned about their having to appear
in person at the increasingly crowded DMV and Social Security Administration
offices.
Alone, the voting process and the effect of state voter ID
rules could be argued as arcane, patchwork, and confusing. Add REAL ID and
coronavirus into the mix, and we have a recipe for chaos.
Our work, corroborated by reputable research, shows the
disenfranchising impact on millions of citizens who don't know what IDs will
enable them to vote in their home state (in fact, REAL ID isn't specifically
required by states with voter ID rules, but it is accepted by every last one of
them). These voters do not readily have documents needed for a traditional or
REAL ID, nor do they know how to get them. Many can't afford the time and money
to obtain a REAL ID before the October 1 deadline nor a voter ID before
November 3rd.
If this seems worrisome to you, just think how difficult it
is for families with limited resources and time.
For citizens who need help—by way of understanding what is
required, a ride to the DMV, funds for necessary documentation, and assistance
in navigating the process—we are leading a coalition of voter groups to help as
many people as possible.
We, and so many others who care about a truly
representative form of government, can't tip-toe around what's on the horizon.
We're facing a unique, troubling set of circumstances right now. But together,
we have the ability to navigate the months ahead.
To
support Kathleen and VoteRiders, visit: VoteRiders.org
I’m Peter Dekom, and I couldn’t have said it better
myself… so I didn’t!
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