I would like to remind those who assume that everyone needs or already has an ID that life in our rural county is very different from life in urban areas. Most of us have a car and driver’s license, and we can pay for things with checks. This is not the case for many people in cities, especially the poor and working poor. They don’t need to drive, in fact a car is an expensive luxury; even if the car were free, license fees, insurance and parking cost much more there.

And then there’s the bureaucracy, often with lines hours long, hours they can’t afford to take off from work. As for cashing checks, they deal with a cash economy; checking accounts are too expensive and businesses do not take checks, they want cash, credit or debit cards. I know because I was one of these people myself and lived for years in multiple cities without any ID.

Requiring ID for voting would most certainly disenfranchise many, many people. I believe the cost to voting rights would far outweigh any fraud that occurs.

 

Cathy Porter

Albert Lea