Big Brother No Longer Scares Us

I am so disgusted with Minnesota - we are seriously moving toward requiring ID to vote! People are so used to Big Brother that they don't even think about how completely unconstitutional such a thing is. One guy was quoted as saying that it bothers him that he is not asked for ID when he votes because: "I could be anybody" - as opposed to what? Why aren't we offended at the implication that there are people out there who don't deserve to vote?

Rep. Ellison had the good sense to note that it's a poll tax - an unconstitutional poll tax - all official forms of ID cost money!

Mary Kiffmeyer, (our former Secretary of State) on the other hand, shows her true colors with a great quote: "I assure you that applying for a photo ID is as easy or easier than getting on welfare or other social services." How the hell would she know? Has she applied for welfare? Does it cost money to apply for welfare?

And even if the state decides to waive the fee, does that make it OK to require citizens to bring ID? Yes, we have to pay taxes, yes, we register to vote, but photo ID? Oh come on.

People in the middle class think carrying and showing an ID is easy because they just do it. People who live in poverty don't have it so easy. When you move regularly, things get lost. When you have no extra cash, and no transportation, getting a new ID isn't so "easy".

I have worked as an election judge in a poor area of north Minneapolis - and will again this year. Folks move and don't know where to vote - we help them figure it out, but then they have to get there! And if they're not registered, they still need proof of address. All this - and now we add photo ID?

So what happens when this law passes? Lots of poor folks don't vote. This is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters - no different than all the shitty ways they did it under Jim Crow.

An old Jim Crow joke:
"A white man goes into the polling place to vote. They hand him a reading test - the book, Run, Spot, Run - which he reads with some difficulty. The judges let him vote. Then a black man goes into the same polling place to vote. They hand him a reading test - a Chinese newspaper. He hesitates. The men laugh and ask: what's the matter, can't you read it? He replies: oh yes, I can read it. Well then, what does it say? He responds: It says there won't be any black folks voting here today."

Mean people suck.