The Voter ID Amendment – Just Deceptive Politics

Voters in many states, particularly in my native Minnesota, are being bombarded with advertisements promoting or opposing constitutional amendments to require voter identification cards as a condition for being allowed to vote. The sole justification for this requirement is the prevention of voter fraud, and most ads cite various anecdotal evidence of some irregularity that has occurred and which might theoretically have been prevented had there been a voter ID law in place.

The thing that I find most perplexing about this debate is why it is so partisan--Republicans pushing the amendment and Democrats opposing it. If there actually is significant evidence of voter fraud, why doesn’t everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike, want to curtail it? Does anyone really believe that Democrats are actually in favor of voter fraud and only Republicans stand on the ethical high road?

Voter ID – Balancing Competing Evils?

Although there is little doubt that some voter fraud occurs in American elections, there is very little evidence that the fraud is substantial or that it actually influences election results. Very few elections are decided by small margins. In order to alter an otherwise honest result, the fraud would have to be very substantial – involving many people – and not isolated instances where some felon shows up to vote when he should not have done so. It is very likely that major fraud is going to be detected because with many people, leaks are a virtual certainty. There is also no proof that requiring voters to show IDs will eliminate voter fraud. Does anyone believe that minors who show up in bars with photo IDs of their 21-year-old friends are never served alcohol?

Same-Sex Marriage – Cluttering Up Our Constitution

The war of words is underway in Minnesota (and many other states across the country) as ballots will soon give voters the choice on whether to establish a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. Most ballot initiatives go something like this: “Do you favor a constitutional amendment that will ban same-sex marriage?” Unfortunately, very few voters recognize this question as a false dichotomy. In other words, it's a question that has at least three valid answers but only allows two options for answering. My wife and I used to give our children false dichotomies all the time. We'd ask, “Do you want to go to bed by yourself, or do you want me to carry you to bed?” That worked really well until they were about ten, when they first recognized there was a third option we weren’t giving them – not going to bed at all.

So what are the three valid answers to the same-sex marriage amendment?

1.) Yes, I favor same-sex marriage and vote against the amendment.

2.) No, I oppose same-sex marriage and vote in favor of the amendment.

3.) I oppose same-sex marriage, but I also oppose changing the constitution.

This third group is in an unusual position of having to choose which is worse, allowing same sex marriage or changing the constitution.