Somewhere along the line a lot of Americans have bought into the idea that requiring an ID to vote is only intended to inhibit some Americans from voting. There is no reason to automatically link the two issues. Voter rights are important of course, but even more important is the knowledgeable (or not) voter.
While I know it’s not politically correct and there will never be an open discussion on the topic, the fact is many, many Americans are not qualified to vote. Yeah, I know there are no qualifications other than citizenship, but that doesn’t change the fact that all too many voters are under-informed or simply ignorant of the issues. I’m not talking about anything sophisticated, but simply the basics.
Here is an example:
Just 63% Know Which Parties Control the House and Senate
Over one-third of Likely U.S. Voters remain unaware which political party controls the House of Representatives and which has a majority in the Senate – less than two months before an election that may put one party in charge of both.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 63% are aware that Republicans have majority control of the House. An identical number (63%) know that Democrats run the Senate.
Twenty percent (20%) mistakenly believe Democrats control the House, while 17% are not sure. Similarly, 18% think the GOP is in charge in the Senate, but 19% are not sure.
This is just one example. Another is the matter of foreign aid. Many Americans believe we spend too much on foreign aid. Many think we spend over 25% of the federal budget on foreign aid; in fact we spend 1% of budget.
Voting is not only a right, it’s an obligation and with it comes the responsibility to be educated and informed.
What’s your view❓❓❓❓
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Not my “point of view” – just facts – Republicans in state governments in more than 25 states are doing everything they can to make it more difficult for certain people to vote and those certain people are those that will likely vote Democratic – it has become a travesty!
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The ignorance is worse than you m ay think. Statements posted on face book and other internet sites show that many people have no idea how the government is organized and operates. Also they don’t seem to know how the president is elected.
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Sadly, you are correct. Comments on this blog and what people pass around as fact substantiate that.
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On the issue of voter IDs, it’s comical how often the Department of Justice sues states for requiring some form of photo identification to vote but if you ever try to enter the DOJ building in Washington or for that matter any government building in Washington without a photo ID, how far do you think you will get?
On the issue of what people know about candidates they are voting for… just look around your town near election time at the money that gets spent on campaign signs. Politicians know that people will vote based on name recognition only. The more times people see VOTE for (fill in the name), the more likely they will vote for him because they aren’t aware of any other reason to cast their ballot. But hey, how many people actually bother to vote anyway, especially in an off year election.That’s democracy!
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