Democrats know that their opposition to voter identification requirements is unpopular and unnecessary, which is why they have to make things up to justify their opposition to it.
Take, for example, a recent interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, who claimed voter ID makes it “almost impossible” for rural voters at the ballot box.
“I don’t think that we should underestimate what that could mean because, in some people’s mind, that means, well, you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove that you are who you are,” she claimed.
“There are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t — there’s no Kinko’s, there’s no Office Max near them,” Harris continued. “People have to understand that when we’re talking about voter ID laws, be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are. Of course, people have to prove who they are, but not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are.”
I’m not sure which rural towns, if any, Harris has visited, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a small community without a FedEx, CVS, Walgreens, local library, local post office, or any one of the other dozen businesses that offer photocopying services. Does Harris assume rural people are too poor to be able to drive to those businesses? Or that they can’t afford to use their services or own their own printer?
Moreover, if presenting identification at the ballot box was really as difficult as Harris makes it out to be, support for the policy would not be nearly as high as it is. More than 81% of people, many of whom live in rural parts of the country, support voter ID requirements. That includes 62% of Democratic voters. Why? Because voter ID is a commonsense requirement that does not at all inhibit the public’s ability to cast votes.
The truth is that it’s pretty simple to obtain voter identification. When I registered to vote in Michigan, all I had to do was send a picture of my driver’s license to my local county clerk’s office via email. In other states, such as Alabama, the government will actually send mobile teams throughout the state to make it as easy as possible for people to update their licenses for free. And contrary to what Harris might think, the vast majority of voters are smart enough to figure out how to get this done before they enter the ballot box.
Harris’s attempt to convince voters otherwise is a great example of why Democratic opposition to voter ID does not work. It makes no sense and often relies on blatant dishonesty. Thankfully, people know better.
