Letter to the Editor - printed Tulsa World:
Gloria Caldwell's column on voter ID ("League of Women Voters opposes bill," Feb. 26) claims no less than seven times that Senate Bill 4 mandates use of photo IDs. Actually, voter registration cards would suffice under the bill and every registered voter gets a voter card.
To be precise, "a voter identification card issued by the appropriate county election board" allows an alternative to presentation of a government (or tribal) photo ID. Caldwell says requiring voter ID would cause longer lines at the polls, but the Comanche County election secretary says identification would, "if anything," make the process "quicker." Through democratic choice and the rule of law Americans have steadily expanded the franchise.
Voices as diverse as former President Jimmy Carter and Wall Street Journal writer John Fund, author of "Stealing Elections," agree that honest elections require transparency and a widely shared confidence that those voting are in fact voters, i.e. individuals actually qualified under American law to cast their ballots. It is a cornerstone of representative government to enfranchise qualified voters and then assure that they, not cheaters, decide our political future.
There is too much evidence of fraud nationwide to assume it never will visit Oklahoma. Let's be prepared rather than perplexed. This debate is all about responsibility. The alternative to measured reforms is the theft of democracy.
Patrick B. McGuigan, Oklahoma City
Tulsa Editor's Note: McGuigan is research fellow at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Gpve note: McGuigan is Managing Editor and Sports Editor for The City Sentinel in OKC.
This bill is on the Governor's desk! IF you WANT voter ID to become law......call Gov. Henry and ask him TO SIGN this bill.
Call now! (405) 521-2342.
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