YES! Why should we not have voters properly identified? I can't think of a valid reason.

Yes. If you have to show a photo ID to buy alcohol, cigarettes, and some "over the counter" medications at the pharmacy, why shouldn't you have to in order to vote?

YES , and they should also tell us if they are citizens of the USA as non citizens have no right to vote and tell us how to run our country

If they Check my ID at the doctors and everywhere else, than yes.

Go one step further, require finger prints when registering. With technology, doesn't have to cost voter anything. When registering, the town takes a photo and prints. If already registered, can be done at polls. All info costs the voter ZERO, so it's not discriminatory. All receive the same treatment. Data goes to a voter database. When voting, all info is on a Tablet (Wi Fi). Access is in seconds, should be no delay. Photo ( taken w/cell phone, if needed. Its cheap anyway) shows person & prints prevent fraud by catching those who would want to register in multiple areas. Cost is absorbed by community. Once set up, the cost should be low. No one should complain because there is no personal cost to them. Politicians will vote ID down because many relie (both parties) on voter fraud. People can register w/different names and get away with fraud, but, finger prints make that difficult to accomplish. Crooks are smart, we have to be smarter.

How can u not justify the cost of acquiring a ID? Otherwise how do you know it's that person who's coming to vote? Why is this different from TSA requirement at the airport...matching name on the id to a boarding pass? So it's a must to verify the id (license, passport, state id, etc) and let the citizens vote. The validity of citizenship is already enforced while registering to vote.

Absolutely NOT!!!! As an African American female I am followed, questioned and targeted in many ways that many other persons of other ethniticies aren't , so unless you have walked in my shoes don't think that its okay for me. Have you been fingerprinted to have a check cashed because you don't have an account in a bank where the check was written on, but have a pasport and id to verify who you are?? I think not. This is suppose to be the home of the brave and land of the free not apartheid,passport,papers and curfew America.

Yes! And I think any reasonable ID, photo or photo-less could be acceptable. If no photo available, let a election clerk take a sworn statement just like is done for a person who currently requires verification to return to the voter roll. Most everyone has photo ID anyway!

Yes, but if the state chooses to enforce a voter to have a state issued ID to vote than that state should offer free IDs'. If not, I see that as a poll tax.

Definition of "Tax" - Many states have additional taxpayer safeguards for legislation that raises taxes, but in an effort to evade these safeguards, politicians are playing a word game. Any assessment that raises money in excess of what is needed to defray costs is a tax.
Amendment XXIV
Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

YES!! Voter ID's are needed!! Voter fraud is so easy!! I work at the polls

Bacon Hill: Please don't go in the nude, you would look like Benny Hill (gross). Knowing that you're being a tad sarcastic...your use of the word "Free" is disturbing. Unfortunately, far too many people use that word like things really are "free". Unfortunately, there is no thing as free. It is a concept that is false. If you receive something for "free" somewhere down the line another person/people is/are paying for you to enjoy that "freebie". Now, I don't mind giving those who need a "freebie" one, I just don't want to continue to give them what they receive...for FREE. I want them to have a Stake in this country. I want them to provide a "freebie" to another. To get without giving is not right. Our country was created so we could all help each other. We have got away from that system. We have also gotten away from honest elections. I'm what my grandkids call "elderly". My feelings would not be hurt, in the least, if I had to show a photo ID. I had to when I last took a plane to travel, I had to show an ID to buy a drink when I became of age, I had to show a photo when I had surgery this year, I have to have a photo to travel abroad, I have a photo on my driver's license, I have to show a photo ID when I pick my grandkids up at school (the first several times), I have to show a photo to register a gun. So, Debra, get real, a voter ID is not an infringement on you. Our country is broken, lets try to fix it without any bull.

Most likely the non-citizens are saner, better-informed than tU.S.citizens. They should be allowed to vote to offset the looney legislation and candidate crazies that have sprung up in the past couple of years..

For most of us, an ID is no problem. It's a problem for those who are old, do not drive, or are desperately poor. Do we want to prevent them from voting? Most of them are taking rather than paying taxes. Or do we want to make sure that every citizen has a vote?

Yes !

Yes, we should have some type of ID to show that we are registered to vote. Before mving to MA I lived in PA and when I registered to vote I was issued a voter card. It was done on the spot after I proved who I was. It took little time and when it came time to vote I just needed to show the card to show who I was.

This IS a "no brainer," but in the "Soviet Socialistic Satellite State of Massachusetts," elected officials (a one-party ruling class of Demorat elitists), they do things the "Beacon Hill Way," and with the blatant corruption and scandals on Beacon Hill and around this socialistic state, they are in a "heated competitive" race with Chicago and the "gangsta" state of Illinois!

Let’s leave aside the purported negative impact on various population groups. It’s just absolutely bizarre to see Tea Partiers and other self-styled libertarians and small government types call for universal government issued IDs or even fingerprinting of the entire population.

Now add back in the potential negative impact on various population groups, and the claims of “I see no reason not to have ID” reflect either incredible naivete or abject cynicism.

No ID's leads to voter fraud - period! ID's please! This is not about race, party or special interest groups. ID's protect the public's right to a fair vote!

Frank, so you'd like to see anyone just be able to waltz in and vote. Let's abolish requirements for drivers licenses and no id's required to buy alcohol while we're at it. Would that make you happy?

Frank is right on target. Requiring voter ID is a "solution" to a non-existent problem.

This is clearly proposed in the same spirit as a poll tax, meant to restrict eligible voters who don't vote the "right way" in the view of voter ID proponents.

they repeat loudly my name and address at the polls so what is the difference I would rather they check an ID. I've always wondered why they don't as long as I knew a name in the town then I could vote.my son has been incarcerated and can't vote....silly...but anyway all he would have to do is know someone that wasn't voting and in he could go.....I agree with the others that say I have to show a picture ID for tons of things why not to vote.

Rob
Very short we have to show ID'S many, many times and should be to vote

Maybe absentee ballots would be the answer for those for whom getting a voter-ID card would be too onerous. You don't even have to leave your house. I can hear the objections already - the poor would be disenfranchised due to high postage costs.

Voter Fraud is easy and happens all the time in Sharon !

absolutely. Voting is a privledge not a gift and should be treated with the respect due to it. Showing ID is considered normal proceedure in most of lifes encounters.

We most defintely should have a valid ID for voting. This is a no brainer

Anybody that believes you cannot register to vote, eventhough your illegal, is naive beyond belief. Next you'll be telling me that there's no fraud in the EBT system. Or the middle class is doing just fine. Or Lizzy Warren isn't a fake Indian.

Don't we need to register with picture ID already? What's the point of extra expense?

ID needed. US citizens vote. Badda bing.Badda boom.

Your proof of fraud is former Attorney General Eric Holders own ballot was given to someone who claimed to be him and gave his address to the poll worker. As stated earlier someone who has lived in a city for a number of years could conceivably commit fraud by having others go to the poll and claim to be someone they know is not voting. Voter ID has become a hot button for the Democrats because they believe the poor and elderly will be excluded from voting if they have to get an ID. Surveys show that they predominately vote in favor of their party. Once again a sensible solution to a conceived problem has become a political debate for fear of loosing votes. It is easy to pretend to want to do it to defend the poor and elderly but it comes down to keeping their office. I do believe in proof of ID at the polls. Maybe the fraud we should be trying to rein in is the fraud committed by our elected officials in the fleecing of America.

It’s possible to “conceive” all kinds of illegal and/or immoral things that could be done easily. Does it happen significantly often, i.e., often enough that it needs to be addressed? If so, does the proposed solution address the problem? And are the consequences acceptable. Your very comment suggests the rationale for this being a “hot button issue” for Democrats. Does it matter if that concern is borne out? Or does “common sense” overrule facts?

I’d like to see the cite for the Eric Holder claim - but I don’t know that one zealot who wants to prove that voter fraud is possible proves that voter fraud is widespread.

Frank you are way in the minority on this one - I give you an 'A' for the old college try, but the truth is in every state that has put this up for vote (I think there are 39 now), it has passed - just like gay marriage - you remember that vote don't you? Oh yeah, I forgot, we in MA didn't have the RIGHT to VOTE on that because the all superior SJC took that away from us - right?

Millions of Americans have died fighting for our constitutional rights. The most important is the right to chose how and by whom we are governed. Every fraudulent vote cancels the legitimate vote of one of us. The vote suppression argument is an insult to our intelligence. The only votes that ID suppresses are the votes of dead people, imaginary people, and people not lawfully eligible to vote (non-residents, non-citizens, felons, etc.) All these are key Democrat voting blocs, and the Dems hurl "racist" bombs at anyone who tries to stop this outrage. No ID suppresses legitimate votes. Last election cycle, hundreds of voters showed up to vote, but couldn't because imposters already had voted under their names. Mr. Kaplan is an enabler of fraud. His arguments are flimsy at best. You can call me all the names you want, Joe, but I'm not buying your story. You're in favor of voter fraud. Why? Because numerous studies of voter records and death records show that dead Democrats vote four times as often as dead Republicans.

Cite the studies. The studies I cited at least confute your assertion that Voter IDs do not suppress the legitimate vote. Accurate voter lists are important - but as they would not have the benefit of voter suppression, they are not championed by Voter ID proponents. Longer times for voting would help more people vote, but none of the recent Voter ID laws (which ostensibly would end the fraud) are accompanied by extending voter hours - on the contrary, look at the shameful behavior of the Ohio Secretary of State, initially allowing longer voter hours in Republican Counties but not Democratic-leaning ones. Look at South Carolina, where existing student IDs were not allowed as voter ID. Those millions of Americans that have died fighting for our Constitutional rights? How would they have viewed such disgraceful behavior? How can this “most important right” be so obviously manipulated, yet those who clamor for Voter IDs remain silent?

Talk to me about Voter ID when you are ready to talk about increasing the opportunity for legitimate voters to vote. Until then, it’s all just a smokescreen designed to gain partisan advantage.

Stuart, the much better solution to solution to keeping dead people from voting is to keep the roles up to date.

Frank: if you think "voter suppression" is an issue with this, explain why in local elections the percentage of voters is so "outrageously" low. Most often it falls below 20% of registered voters.
Why is it that Congress has a favorable rating of roughly 13%, today, but, on average, 86% of those up for re-election get re-elected.
Voters don't vote because there aren't, good, honest candidates. Those that do vote are, most likely uninformed, or vote strict party lines (which is foolish). I have, and will continue to research, candidates. If there are good candidates, I feel that I can support (either party. right now I'm planning on splitting my vote for state rep). Parties mean nothing to me, they are both bogus. Since I probably live in a different town than you, if you would like to vote for me( I'm not known in my new town), I'll let you cast my votes for me. As the saying goes for both parties "vote early and often". My giving you my vote, I'm sure I would make a Liberal sounding person, as you sound, more than happy to cast more than one ballot to assure your candidate gets elected.

I’m not following how low voter turnout supports voter ID.

Like the vast majority of people, I would not cast anyone’s vote but my own.

But thanks for the insult.

YES! MA. should p-ass a bill that requires voters to show they are registered voters! In addition, all electronic voting machines should be banned, and no union employes should be able to count or touch the ballots!

Stuart Van Tine - unfortunately for you, the text of the 1993 law is readily available on the internet. Removing dead people from the roles of course is contemplated under the law - also, state officials are supposed to notify election officials of felons. The problem is, that, in places like Florida in 2000, rolls were being purged at the 11th hour, and over 1,000 eligible voters were erroneously removed - as you might recall, less than the margin of victory. What a travesty! If you’re concerned about the integrity of the vote, you update the rolls in a systematic, timely basis.

Let’s sum up. You’re concerned that dead people vote. Someone suggest that voter roll upkeep is the answer. But that undercuts your argument, so you fabricate an eight-year waiting period for removing dead people from the roles. As always, if you can provide legitimate proof, I will stand corrected.

Doesn’t work that way. Facts are stubborn things...

One MUST have a photo I.D. to present when voting!....NO photo I.D....NO VOTE....
for Massachusetts + anywhere else....
Those who say it's too inconvenient....that some old people don't have one...
or people work and can't get one or are taking care of kids....That's a lot of BS!....
This is not a partisan issue. It's an American Issue......We must have accountability.
Photo I.D.'s are a staple of everyday life in the U.S.A....They are a fact of life.
Voting is a right....but only with accountability......This should be a national law....

Right - don't look at any evidence, because evidence is BS. We should do this becuase you SAY SO IN CAPS.

Frank, 22,000 EBT cards are lost per month in Massachusetts. The fact is most are not lost, but sold for 50 cents on the dollar. How is it that the poor, whom you say would have problems acquiring an ID, have no problem going to the welfare office month after month to have their EBT card reinstated?

Please name an official in Massachusetts, any polling official or clerk, that has been prosecuted for election law violations. If you can't, then it does not happen.

Checking on officials is a solution in search of a problem.

Mr. Kaplan declares:

"Voting is a right and should not be inhibited based on having an ID on your person."

Voting is a right of CITIZENS over the age of 18. Those incapable of proving they satisfy both requirements should not be allowed to contaminate the election process.

Voting is a privilege. It is a group right, not guaranteed to all individuals.

Voter ID protects American citizens rights. Only illegals protest it and fear being outed.

Voting is neither a right or a privilege, it is an obligation that anyone eligible shou ddo, Non-citizens voting is so blown out of proportion by our politicians because like tax returns and birth certificates it makes us pay attention to stupid stuff rather than how people we elect are screwing us on a daily basis. ID no ID it is timje we stop being distracted by piddly crap and pay attention to what is being doine to us by our beloved politicians.

Barbara--

You state " Only illegals protest it and fear being outed." How do you know this? .
Myself, I protest voter I.D.iand I am legal & registered to vote (by mail, no photo/otherID requested.)
I get so weary of the sloppy, slipshod logic nowadays. Repeat it enough and it is true. If an opinion is strong enough and shared by enough people it must be true.

Without being required to show ID, I could go in and vote as me, turn around and go back in and vote as my neighbor, then anyone who's address I know, and do that all day long. None of the 90 year old ladies at the desk would know any better!

RyGuy--
Noyou could not do this with the present system. Think about it! They would either contact you or your neighbor. You'd be found out & sent off for 5 years to make little ones out of big ones.
Also--
In one awe-inspring sentence you show disrespect to the poll volunteers, to the elderly, and to women..

Sarek, if thats your real name, the current process is I walk in and give my street and house number. There's currently no guard in place to stop me from giving a different address.

So let me understand this.

You want Voter ID's because of of voter fraud that has never happened.

You want smaller government, and yet you're going to need more government to issue cards, confirm the information, replace lost cards, handle questions.

Lastly, we have high school kids making fake id's all the time, so your ID card solves what to anyone that wants to buy one?

If you are trying to keep the waves of illegal immigrants from going to the polls you should find a different method. Heck, with only a 20% turnout by the actual citizens of the town we should let the illegals vote as it seems they are the only ones that give a damn.

Sorry, as a poll observer I have watched people come in to vote and get challenged, only to have them leave and never return. If not challenged, they would have voted. In either case, they are not reported as voter impersonation since in one case the poll official just lets them leave, and when not caught remains undetected.

It is easier to cheat when the officials are corrupt, but lazy and sloppy also enable the fraud to go unreported.

isn't it racist to think that minorities or immigrants can't or won't obtain identification?

Bob Ross--
Well said!
Live Long & Prosper

DARN !!!!! ITS SO SIMPLE. I HAVE TO SHOW AND ID AT TJMAX IF I'M USING A STORE CREDIT. THE RACE CARD IS ALWAYS THERE. I'M TIRED OR HEARING THAT OLD SONG. FLORIDA HAS BEEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT DRUG TESTING AND I'DS FOR EVERYONE. YOU APPLY FOR A JOB ANYWHERE ,DRIVING A TRUCK OR WORKING IN A WAREHOUSE OR GOV EMPLOYEE. ID AND DRUG TESTING REQUIRED. THEY EVEN OFFERED TO PICK UP THE COST. OUR VOTING BOOTHS THESE DAYS ARE AS CRITICAL AS DRIV ING WITH AN EXPIRED LICENCE OR AN UNINSURED CAR . WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP IN THIS COUNTRY AND DO THINGS BECAUSE THEIR NEEDED AND NOT PC.

So . . . it's OK to prevent a fairly large number of legal voters from casting their ballots in order to prevent an extremely small number of people from voting illegally.

For any law we pass the benefits ought to outweigh the costs.

I'd say the the cost of strict ID laws - they ALWAYS prevent people who are othwerwise legal voters from casting a ballot - is too high.

Frank and Yorvis: Most (if not all) states with ID laws provide ID free of charge to anyone who doesn't have one. In South Carolina, the governor, the daughter of immigrants, even provided free transportation to the ID issuing office. Eric Holder still blocked their law. He tried to block FL from removing illegal aliens from the rolls. FL officials had gotten the names and addresses from the INS. He tried to block that, too. He has tried to block voter ID in many states, using the same flimsy arguments. The United States Supreme Court rejected those arguments years ago. It found that the inconvenience of getting ID is minor, compared to the damage caused by voter fraud. Your arguments have been judged to be without merit by the highest court in the country. Give it up, or admit that you think voter fraud is OK.

As for the high cost of voter integrity, it would be much cheaper to skip the whole process and just have the elites make those difficult choices for us.

You can have whatever opinions you want, but there is vote fraud going on in every election, in most every city and most towns in the Commonwealth. Verification would help. So would having honest polling officials. I personally do not think a photo ID should be a requirement, but if the people in a state want to do that, the tiny number of real voters it would inconvenience is acceptable.

I think this debate comes down to two diametrically opposed opinions. On the one hand you have the sane thinking tax payers who want accountability in the voter box. So their hard earned tax dollars are not wasted on illegals and layabouts. And on the other side you have the public sector unions that are absolutely crushing cities and towns with their hand outs. They think there is no end to the gravey train. And no accountability is their friend.
The end is near, as the Mayan calendar suggests. But it's really the end of the Messiahs rein.

ROMNEY RYAN 2012 ...............that is the true answer.

Apparently the concensus is split. Frankly I don't want to be robbed of my vote because the naysayers think it is a waste of time and money to stop voter fraud. Maybe they stand to loose their bent if honesty prevailed.Those who offer excuses why they can't are talking into the wind. Chances are they don't vote any way. A real citizen and patriot WILL find a way to get a valid voter ID if it was required..

Frank. Not you, but many on your side of this argument claim that we pro-ID people are anti-immigrant, and anti-minority. The fact that the Gov.of SC is the daughter of immigrants does not have "absolutely nothing to do with anything." It gives the lie to one of their arguments. I've seen several reports that the majority of African-Americans favor voter ID. Why? Because the inner cities are where a lot of the fraud takes place, so they percieve that their votes are more likely to be stolen. Democrats were major thieves of black votes from Emancipation through The CIvil Rights Act of 1964, for which more Republicans that Democrats in the Senate voted. It was Democrats like George Wallace who blocked the schoolhouse doors during integration. The late Senator Robert Byrd was a powerful Dixiecrat and a former Grand Kook of the Ku Klux Klan. He was the ranking Dem in the Senate for years and publicly dissed Condoleeza Rice when she testified in the one of his hearings. You folks play the race card with without hesitation on this issue, claiming Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minotities. In todays schools, I bet not a single blalck kid has been taught that the NAACP was founded by three wealthy white Republicans whose main goal was to prevent disenfranchisement of blacks with the Dixiecrat Jim Crow poll taxes, IQ tests, etc. Im sick and tired of the biizzard of race cards being played by Dems, frequently on the voter ID issue.

My typing rots. I hit keys next door to each other. Sorry for the tyops.

Stu

Frank, You should use the proper terminology. Massachusetts, like most states, requires voters to have ID's to vote. The Commonwealth does not require Photo ID's.

Why won't you admit that voter ID laws selectively disenfranchise poor, elderly and minority populations. How many studies have to be presented to you ? How many courts have to rule such laws unconstitutional ?

It's a clear play by the GOP to reduce voter turnout where ever they can, take away as many votes as they can in selective groups that traditionally vote democratic. Stop denying it.

"I have to show an ID to buy liquor.....I have to show an ID to drive, why not to vote !" Get over it. Doing these and countless other things without ID are illegal but....Voter fraud is a FELONY. Who is going to risk that to cast one vote?

No illegal is going to walk into City Hall to register at the risk of jail time and deportation. If you seriously think they would you should rethink your "logic."

Stop pretending there is a huge voter fraud issue out there. THERE IS NOT. It's a made up problem. Don't you think if such a problem REALLY existed in significant numbers, the GOP would be using that as rationale for these fraudulent voter ID laws and voting hour restrictions?

Daniel: Get a copy of "Stealing Elections" by John Fund. He's a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. It chronicles voter fraud by both Reps and Dems for over 100 years. All his research is documented in the end notes and easily verifiable. Conclusions from official reports by both Rep and Dem officials are quoted. Get educated on the subject. You are embarrassing yourself. This book is a fairly thin paperback, available used online for short money. Also, WTF are "blatant omissions?" I think you are putting unspoken words into people's mouths.

Max must support voter fraud like an ostrich with his head in the sand. He must benefit from fraud. Fraud is a lie and lies do sink the ship of state. More than ever we do need to protect our rightto FAIR elections in spite of all the liars vying for election. Apparently you don't value truth, honesty and the values of our constitutional right the protecion of which requires due dilligence.

Voter fraud is like cheating on taxes. We all know someone who does it.

Even in a blue state like Massachusetts, Democrats would have a hard time winning without their organized vote fraud and cheating.

Republicans need to win any election by the margin of "Acorn" in order to withstand the cheating during a recount. ;-)

The Massachusetts Speaker of the House (D) says there is no fraud in Massachusetts. Then he goes to jail.

Simple answer. No photo ID? Registrar of voter takes your picture. Later turns up you are dead, we send Buffy the Vampire Slayer after you. Or, maybe we put your picture on the internet with a cash reward to anyone who ID's you. Only a crook or an illegal alien could object to that.

Voter ID yes! If you lived in Chicago in the 30& 40,s you would be shocked to go to the polls and find your name crossed as if you had already voted!!

Voter id is just another government tax in order to vote. Voter id laws do nothing for absentee ballots that are mailed both ways. Instead of voter IDs why not imprint each voter's finger with indelible ink with different colors. Oh wait then we'd know who voted and who didn't and it only costs pennies per voting station.

Interesting that the delegates to the DNC were required to produce ID . . . . .

Voted in the elections last week and went in laughing about voter fraud. Poll workers laughed and said they knew me - no fraud - no id needed