There are other more serious issues with voter ID laws than this. But, it is always something that has bothered me. Those of us who do not drive (and there are a great many in some states like NY) have two main options for ID. A passport which is notoriously expensive or something called the:
Non-driver's ID
Think about that. Almost every other ID card I have ever had identifies me as SOMEONE: a student, an American etc. But, this card identifies what I'm NOT.
And in a car-centric country like the USA it's not a badge of honor to be a "non-driver." In fact it could just as well say:
Outsider ID or
2nd Class ID
Imagine if all of us mathematicians made those of you who have not studied calculus get a "non-mathematicians ID" or what if all of the long distance runners enforced a "non-marathoners ID" isn't it odd and a bit degrading to carry a card that explains what we can't or have not learned to do? Even when they are called "State IDs" instead it is still a reminder that you are a square peg in a round hole. The world is set up for those who drive... the rest of us must work around you.
I have friends who are too old to drive.
I have friends with medical conditions that preclude driving.
I have friends who never had the chance to learn and don't have the time now.
I'm the one who just never wanted to drive. I don't have an excuse and you can't get me to make one. I think cars are terrifying and I'd rather not pose a threat to the public by driving around when I can live a wonderful life without a car.
But why should it matter? Why is an issue of motility now tied to voting of all things? And to make matters worse I'd have to keep this nobody-ID from expiring as if I owned a car... how is this even relevant to me? Now since I have a "non-driver's ID" I can tell you that no one checks the expiration date... but the Texas law will require this. "sorry mam' but you have not demonstrated the fact that you can't drive a car recently enough!"
There is this notion that "everyone" has a driver's license and those who don't are so few in number or to weird lazy and awful ...that hey who cares! It's only suffrage we are talking about.
Also, why on earth do so many people think that the DMV is even good at issuing IDs? That is not even their primary function.
Some states report more licensed drivers than residents of driving age. This may occur for several reasons: 1) the records of expired licenses, drivers who have moved out of state, and people who have died are only periodically purged from a state's drivers license database; 2) some drivers fraudulently obtain a license in more than one state; and 3) some drivers obtain a license in a state other than that in which they are a legal resident.
http://www.statemaster.com/...
Despite the fact that "Some states report more licensed drivers than residents of driving age." Texas, like New York has a very low rate of licenses per-capita.
(These numbers are out of the total population rather than people of driving age.) But more to the point:
600,000 registered voters in the state lacked the relevant forms of ID—about 4.5% of the state's registered voters.
And of course, not everyone is registered... yet. (Why that isn't automatic is beyond me.)
My main point is if I MUST have an ID I want a free citizen's ID card issued by a government office that is dedicated to doing just that. If we are really worried about fraud that is the correct way to address it. Colleges and high schools should then be required to help students get these free IDs. There should be mobile ID units to reach the elderly.
Though, I do see that there is something rather nice about the fact that the US is not the kind of country that requires all people be identified. You are not required to carry or even have ANY form of identification by law.
But it seems we are moving towards a state where one is required to drive a car OR get the papers that identify you as a non-driving 2nd class citizen.
Why are cars even a part of this conversation?