Motor Voter

Voter registration is a big deal.  If you're not registered, you can't vote and participate in our democratic processes.  Around the country, we see that there is a big discussion about Voter ID, and that mystifies many of us in Louisiana because we've had a Voter ID law for years.  We call it Motor Voter, because you can register to vote at your local DMV office where you go to get a Driver's licence or a state ID.  It works like this:  When you get a driver's license they ask you if you want to register to vote.  If you say yes, you fill out the form and they forward it to the Registrar of Voters.  Easy-peasy.

Not so fast, kiddo.  Motor Voter has it's problems.  Not the least of which is that there is sometimes a disconnect between the DMV office and the registrar.  When my son and daughter-in-law moved back to Louisiana from Florida, one of the things they did was to get a Louisiana driver's license.  They registered at the DMV, but when they went to vote in a local election, their names weren't on the rolls.  Ooops, and oh, shit, they got hit by a bureaucratic snafu.  SO, a quick trip to the registrar's office the next week and they were registered to vote as well.

Still, Louisiana has had a Voter ID law for many years, and it works fine.  Frankly, we're a little bemused at the folks who are fighting it in other parts of the country.  Especially because a recent poll shows that 70& of people everywhere think it's a good idea. (Scroll down to question 37).  If you don't want to read the raw poll, there's a nice re-cap at The Hill.

Seven in 10 registered voters are in favor of identification laws in order to root out fraud at the ballot box, according to a Fox News poll released this week.
The survey found majority support in every major demographic, including black voters and Democrats.
The 70 percent who support voter ID laws remains largely unchanged in the past few years. Another 27 percent believe the laws are unnecessary.

If seven out of ten believe it's a good idea, then it should be a no-brainer.  Yeah, there will be problems and bureaucratic snafus, but protecting the electoral process is good business.  And, here in Louisiana we've been requiring Voter ID for years.  We really don't see what all the fuss is about.