American government essay
The recent developments in several states enacting voter ID laws have led to different points of view of the public (Pintor et al., 2002; Malone & Fredericks, 2012). The enactment of restrictive voter ID laws has led to the “disproportionate impact on the poor, elderly and communities of color; the undermining of collective bargaining by public employees; restrictions on reproductive health; and so on” (Malone & Fredericks, 2012, p. 199). Voter ID laws are state public policies, which are vary from state to state. Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi and several other states have already enacted voter ID, requiring the photo ID at the poll stations.
Some people state that ID laws are beneficial, while other believe that these laws are harmful. The pros and cons on both sides of the debate about these laws can be explained in the following way. The ID laws requiring presentation of the government-issued photo ID are aimed at combating voter fraud, but the problem is that these laws fail to actually prevent voter fraud. For example, the poor are unable to afford an ID, but many deceased people are found as voting after their death (Levin-Waldman, 2012). The statistics show that the states with ID voter laws demonstrated 37 % of voter turnout, while the states, which require no photo ID – 42% (Malone & Fredericks, 2012).
I would like to share my own experience with the relative difficulty of voting in my locale. I faced a wide range of problems at the polls, including malfunctioning voting machines, poorly prepared poll stations staff, aggressiveness of people outside the poll stations, too many people at the polls, lack of certification of voting machines, and inconsistent e-mail voting opportunities.
Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the debate over voter ID laws is not over. I believe that voting in the U.S. should be made easier. The ID voter laws should be reworked for better security and more accessibility.
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