There has been a debate over photo identification when it comes to voting in the United States. In You Decide, we go over two individual’s point of view, Hans von Spakovsky and Shelia Jackson Lee. Spakovsky believes it protects the integrity of elections, while Lee believes it suppresses voter turnout. Hans von Spakovsky immediately defines his argument on photo identification by bullet pointing his reasons for supporting photo IDs, for example, he says it prevents “voting under fictitious voter registrations” and “double voting by individuals registered in more than one state or locality.” (Rourke, pg. 96) He also continues by quoting former President Jimmy Carter where he says, “Photo IDs are currently needed to board a plane, enter federal buildings, and cash a check. Voting is equally important.” (Rourke, pg. 96) This point is valid as it is necessary to provide proper identification when you are doing any of those actions above or even swiping your credit card at a retail store.
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One example that he mentions is the conspiracy case in 1984 in New York where for 14 years in Brooklyn, thousands of fraudulent votes were casted in state and congressional elections. This evidence allows the reader to connect to a real life situation that occurred and that can continue to happen if photo IDs are not enforced in the elections. Nevertheless, in Shelia Jackson Lee’s point of view on photo identification she argues that it would suppress voter turnout instead of protecting the integrity of elections. Lee mentions that in the state of Texas, it was legal to present a “birth certificate, a utility bill, government check”, etc. (Rourke, pg. 103) at the voting polls. She argues that using photo IDs during elections intimidate the voters who are unable to provide one on Election Day, creating voter
One example that he mentions is the conspiracy case in 1984 in New York where for 14 years in Brooklyn, thousands of fraudulent votes were casted in state and congressional elections. This evidence allows the reader to connect to a real life situation that occurred and that can continue to happen if photo IDs are not enforced in the elections. Nevertheless, in Shelia Jackson Lee’s point of view on photo identification she argues that it would suppress voter turnout instead of protecting the integrity of elections. Lee mentions that in the state of Texas, it was legal to present a “birth certificate, a utility bill, government check”, etc. (Rourke, pg. 103) at the voting polls. She argues that using photo IDs during elections intimidate the voters who are unable to provide one on Election Day, creating voter