I'm a democrat/republican, but really disagree with my party's stance on...

[Anonymous]

918 here. i think the entire voter ID thing needs to be explained better cause the straw man argument about needing id to buy liquor vs. voting is annoying.

most of these laws require a specific form of ID. not everyone drinks or takes plane trips so people need to stop assuming. again, these laws require a SPECIFIC form of ID. so while 97 year old grandma has her social security card, that isnt going to work as ID for her to vote. neither will her expired driver license that she hasnt used in over 20 years because she doesnt drive anymore.

in turn, all of you are oversimplifying and/or completely ignorant to what is going on here. for a quick second i thought like some of you but the matter isnt that simple.

so when you are making grandma, a disabled, or individual who doest drive have to go however far to get a state issue id just to vote, you are making the entire experience a chore and putting them off to vote. hence, why this is an issue. and i havent even gotten to the things said person needs to bring in order to get said id (birth certificate, social security card, etc) which just adds to the burden.

so stop acting like this is similar to buying liquor or getting on a damn plane. its not.

[Anonymous]

and let me clarify that you and i with drivers licenses are good to go because that ID works fine to vote (for now). im speaking strictly on people who dont have a license on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:918 here. i think the entire voter ID thing needs to be explained better cause the straw man argument about needing id to buy liquor vs. voting is annoying.

most of these laws require a specific form of ID. not everyone drinks or takes plane trips so people need to stop assuming. again, these laws require a SPECIFIC form of ID. so while 97 year old grandma has her social security card, that isnt going to work as ID for her to vote. neither will her expired driver license that she hasnt used in over 20 years because she doesnt drive anymore.

in turn, all of you are oversimplifying and/or completely ignorant to what is going on here. for a quick second i thought like some of you but the matter isnt that simple.

so when you are making grandma, a disabled, or individual who doest drive have to go however far to get a state issue id just to vote, you are making the entire experience a chore and putting them off to vote. hence, why this is an issue. and i havent even gotten to the things said person needs to bring in order to get said id (birth certificate, social security card, etc) which just adds to the burden.

so stop acting like this is similar to buying liquor or getting on a damn plane. its not.

There's not really much room to argue with someone as wrong, yet committed to flawed reasoning as you I guess.
Acceptable forms of identification include the following: (Download Chart)
•Virginia voter registration card

•Valid Virginia driver's license

•Military ID

•Any Federal, Virginia state or local government-issued ID

•Employer issued photo ID card

•Concealed handgun permit

•Valid student ID issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth of Virginia

•[b]Current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck indicating the name and address of the voter

•Social Security card (*please see below as the social security card does not satisfy special federal ID requirements)

A voter who does not bring an acceptable ID to the polls will be offered a provisional ballot.


Don't have one of these forms of ID?
All Virginia active registered voters will be mailed a new Virginia voter registration card prior to the November 2012 General Election. If you are not registered but are eligible for registration, please register today and a voter registration card will be mailed to you by your local general registrar's office after your application has been processed.

[Anonymous]

i apologize for the mistake.

i for some reason thought that multiple states were trying to impose voter ID laws. i was unaware that the whole debate centered around virginia's law.

carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Democrat - voter ID. You can't get on a plane without ID, and in VA you only need a utiliity bill. Common sense ought to prevail here, if you can get to your polling place, can't you get to your DMV?

Wow, do you really think those two things at the same? My polling place is a block away. The nearest DMV is a 30-minute drive, but since I don't have a driver's license, I don't drive. It would take at least three bus transfers and probably more than an hour to get there via public transportation. Adding the time spent actually at the DMV, and then the trip back, that is half of a day. If someone is working two jobs, spending half a day to do something that must be done during business hours is difficult.

Well, DMV's are actually located in a number of area malls, Fair Oaks being just one in VA...and we do have these presidentials on a fairly consistant basis, along with the others. Is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November not enough of a motivating factor to get it taken care of?

And once again, VA mails you your voter card, if you don't have it, you can vote with a bank statement or utility bill. I'm open to the earlier poster's suggestion to help get people registered, but I'd also counter that this is 2012, the states and certainly the parties are doing everything they can to get people registered, for their own self interest. At some point I just have to say come on!

And finally, is voting and flying on a plane the same? Of course not, but if Grandma wants to fly across the country to see her son or daughter, family members will go to the ends of the earth to ensure she gets onto the plane and is safe. Why can't "they" i.e. her family, or community not do the same to ensure she can vote in ample time?

[Anonymous]

Virginia is not the only issue. There are multiple states making it more difficult for citizens to vote, including Pennsylvania and Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i apologize for the mistake.

i for some reason thought that multiple states were trying to impose voter ID laws. i was unaware that the whole debate centered around virginia's law.

carry on.

PP here, no mistake made. I was just relaying my recent experience voting last week in Fairfax, and yes, we're just one of 50 states, so I can't speak for other states. So I look forward to other states and the criminal voter suppression being invoked to be the next topic of discussion to over-complicate a rather basic subject.

[Anonymous]

I'd also counter that this is 2012, the states and certainly the parties are doing everything they can to get people registered, for their own self interest. At some point I just have to say come on!

Yes, the parties are doing their part, but the state legislatures, which are uniformly Republican in these cases, are making laws that make voting harder.

I'm in Maryland, so your comments about area malls do not help.

[Anonymous]

I'm a republican and a conservative republican at that. But, I disagree with my party's stance on abortion. I honestly think a lot of reps think like I do, but need the right-wing christian vote, so we play that card. I totally disagree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i apologize for the mistake.

i for some reason thought that multiple states were trying to impose voter ID laws. i was unaware that the whole debate centered around virginia's law.

carry on.

PP here, no mistake made. I was just relaying my recent experience voting last week in Fairfax, and yes, we're just one of 50 states, so I can't speak for other states. So I look forward to other states and the criminal voter suppression being invoked to be the next topic of discussion to over-complicate a rather basic subject.

i was actually being sarcastic.

your VA experience isnt the same as many other states. if i was strictly speaking about VA, i guess my statement would be wrong.

georgia, indiana, kansas are states that have much stricter id requirements than va. the pa law which was put on hold for this election was also very strict and spoke to much of what i said in my earlier post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia is not the only issue. There are multiple states making it more difficult for citizens to vote, including Pennsylvania and Florida.

thank you!

i didnt mention virginia one time in my post yet im wrong because what i said doesnt apply in the commonwealth as if all states follow the va model

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i apologize for the mistake.

i for some reason thought that multiple states were trying to impose voter ID laws. i was unaware that the whole debate centered around virginia's law.

carry on.

PP here, no mistake made. I was just relaying my recent experience voting last week in Fairfax, and yes, we're just one of 50 states, so I can't speak for other states. So I look forward to other states and the criminal voter suppression being invoked to be the next topic of discussion to over-complicate a rather basic subject.

i was actually being sarcastic.

your VA experience isnt the same as many other states. if i was strictly speaking about VA, i guess my statement would be wrong.

georgia, indiana, kansas are states that have much stricter id requirements than va. the pa law which was put on hold for this election was also very strict and spoke to much of what i said in my earlier post.

Your sarcasm was noted, I just didn't want to stoop to your level with your bitchy "carry on" statement, since you're obviously a woman, I didn't want to get into a catty tit for tat. In Georgia you can still vote with an expired drivers license. I'm not interested in researching every state's suppressive ways, suffice it to say you may be on to something, as Kansas and Georgia have long been bastions of progressive politicss until this massive wave FINALLY swept conservatives...

Ironically both are hard faught battleground states....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'd also counter that this is 2012, the states and certainly the parties are doing everything they can to get people registered, for their own self interest. At some point I just have to say come on!

Yes, the parties are doing their part, but the state legislatures, which are uniformly Republican in these cases, are making laws that make voting harder.

I'm in Maryland, so your comments about area malls do not help.

What county? They have kiosks everywhere. Let's help you find a DMV in Maryland, you don't have much more time. Just a reminder that people that wait until the end of the month can experience significant waiting times.

http://www.mva.maryland.gov/Hours-Locations/default.asp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Democrat. Immigration issues. I don't think the republicans have this issue figured out, either. Not even close. However, I think the democrats are way too passive or too politically compromised.

What's your beef with your party?

Democrat: immigration, Dream act, Obama [$250,000 + acting like no one worked hard, etc], foreign aid money, diplomatic confusion [why would stephens have gone to Benghazi after UK ambassador incident], banking [free grants of 20,000], Obama pandering on immigration

All: rail TO DULLES AND OTHER porky pig projects around this country-could have been done less costly, pandering on immigration, allowing overseas operations of businesses that could easily be in the usa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i apologize for the mistake.

i for some reason thought that multiple states were trying to impose voter ID laws. i was unaware that the whole debate centered around virginia's law.

carry on.

PP here, no mistake made. I was just relaying my recent experience voting last week in Fairfax, and yes, we're just one of 50 states, so I can't speak for other states. So I look forward to other states and the criminal voter suppression being invoked to be the next topic of discussion to over-complicate a rather basic subject.

i was actually being sarcastic.

your VA experience isnt the same as many other states. if i was strictly speaking about VA, i guess my statement would be wrong.

georgia, indiana, kansas are states that have much stricter id requirements than va. the pa law which was put on hold for this election was also very strict and spoke to much of what i said in my earlier post.

Your sarcasm was noted, I just didn't want to stoop to your level with your bitchy "carry on" statement, since you're obviously a woman, I didn't want to get into a catty tit for tat. In Georgia you can still vote with an expired drivers license. I'm not interested in researching every state's suppressive ways, suffice it to say you may be on to something, as Kansas and Georgia have long been bastions of progressive politicss until this massive wave FINALLY swept conservatives...

Ironically both are hard faught battleground states....

first im not a woman.

second, i think the both of us are accustomed to the cat fighting on here that we reacted accordingly based on that assumption.

i dont mind being challenged. im just not interested in petty gamesmanship and i assumed thats what you were trying to do.

either way, my entire point about the laws was that while they vary state by state, many of them are imposing strict rules that make it difficult for some.

further, i sat on a discussion on this topic and you would be surprised to learn that some opponents of the voter id laws are not against showing id. its strict nature of the rules/law that is the problem.

we get so caught up in stupid heated debates about the topic that we never get to a point of common ground on the issue. some people are ok with having to show id, its the hoops and hurdles some of these states require you to go through which is the problem. so VA may be "normal" in their requirements but states like pa, fl and the ones ive mentioned not so. this is part of the problem