Example: Why the anti-voter ID argument is weak

Anti-voter ID types bring one argument to the table-that and ID is an insurmountable barrier to voting for the poor, elderly, and disabled. Over at OnMilwaukee.com, Brian Fraley covers the pros of voter ID, and Michael Tate covers the cons. One paragraph of Tate's piece is emblamatic of weakness of the anti-voter ID position:

My grandmother is 87 and doesn't drive anymore. She moved a few years ago to be closer to family. She reads the newspaper daily, discusses current events with her friends, and counts the days to Election Day when she exercises her civic duty. This law would directly impact her. She does not have a current ID and getting one would be an extreme hardship. Similarly, why should a disabled veteran without the ability to get an ID be denied the right to vote?

By the tone of that article, I'd say Tate loves his grandmother, as does the family if she moved to be closer to them. Taking that as a given, why would it be such a hardship? Is everyone in the family unwilling to help take Tate's grandmother to get an ID? I'm not one who is sympathetic to this argument. My grandmother was legally blind and had diabetes. My father took her to town every Saturday so she could get out, do a little shopping, and feel like a normal person. Every Sunday we took her on a ride and out to dinner. Even late in her life, when diabetes had taken her legs, we still took my grandmother out every weekend. The elderly are not incapable people who have to be locked away from society. If Tate is concerned about their ability to get out to get an ID, maybe he and his family should volunteer to work with the elderly, and help lower the burden that those elderly who are short on family and friends do face.

As for college students, almost every one I knew in my college days had an ID. If that ID is a driver's license that has an address that is in another city besides where they go to school, absentee ballot in their home district is an option. If I remember correctly, absentee ballot is an acceptable way to vote for Democrats. After all, Kerry's campaign managed to get a Madison office to stay open late for his Madison/Springsteen rally last year so all of his Springsteen fan supporters could vote. Surely it is good enough for college students as well.