I received a piece of e-mail from my State Representative Joe Leibham asking for my support. He is being Attacked, he says.
Joe is currently running for Congress. He was invited by the League of Women Voters to participate in a debate with the other Republican candidates for the seat, but he refused because the League has been opposed to his controversial bill requiring citizens to show an ID before they are permitted to vote. Now, some people might think that a debate would be a good place to defend his views and explain the bill, and have criticized him for dodging the debate. These are the "Attacks" he's talking about.
This is my response.
Hi, Team Leibham
Joe probably doesn't remember me, but I was a member of his church for a while, some years back, and my daughter went to the church's Sunday School. She's grown now. She turned 18 the year Joe's Voter ID bill passed.
She was worried about the law at the time. She was looking forward to casting her first vote but she was afraid she might not be able to because she didn't have a driver's license. My wife took her down to the DMV to get a State ID. She brought along all the forms of identification she thought she'd need, including her birth certificate, her Social Security card and a tuition bill from the college she was going into as proof of residence. The clerk at the DMV told her that the last was insufficient; that her proof of residence had to be a utility bill. Well, she didn't have that, because she was living at home. The only proof of residence they would accept was something she didn't have.
Fortunately, her mother was with her. My wife argued with the clerk, and a supervisor came and my wife explained my daughter's situation to the supervisor. The supervior decided that what she had was close enough. My daughter got her ID.
Everybody got what they wanted; happily ever after right?
The thing is, unless someone had bent the rules, which the DMV established to comply with Joe's law, my daughter would have walked away without an ID. And if the courts hadn't so far blocked the implementation of Joe's law, she would have been unable to vote.
I understand that Joe thinks Voter ID is important because it will prevent the Wrong People from voting. I have to ask, who are the Wrong People?
Obviously, my daughter is one.
You tell me that the League of Women Voters is picking on poor Joe and persecuting him. At least they're not keeping him from voting.