One of several important cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week involves whether states can require people to show a picture ID (driver's license, passport, any other government-issued identification card with a picture on it) before being allowed to vote. The arguments for strict voter ID rules deal with stopping voter fraud. The arguments against such strict rules focus on access to voting as a large segment of lower income people in the U.S. may have difficulty meeting a strict ID test (put another way, they may not have a picture ID). For more on this issue, I suggest taking a listen to this piece on National Public Radio and reading this article in the New York Times. I've never asked anyone before what voters in Germany have to show before they can vote?
10 January 2008
Voter ID
One of several important cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week involves whether states can require people to show a picture ID (driver's license, passport, any other government-issued identification card with a picture on it) before being allowed to vote. The arguments for strict voter ID rules deal with stopping voter fraud. The arguments against such strict rules focus on access to voting as a large segment of lower income people in the U.S. may have difficulty meeting a strict ID test (put another way, they may not have a picture ID). For more on this issue, I suggest taking a listen to this piece on National Public Radio and reading this article in the New York Times. I've never asked anyone before what voters in Germany have to show before they can vote?
