By DAVID MARTIN
My colleague Carolyn Szczepanski recently wrote about Phil Lindsey, an Independence man who takes bail money to the polls, figuring there's going to be trouble. This morning, I felt his sense of aggravation.
After watching the Obamas vote on the Today show, I grabbed a recent electric bill and headed out the door with my wife. We walked to our polling site, a Presbyterian church in Raytown. We felt grateful for the beautiful weather and the zero-minute wait once we arrived at the church.
Forsaking the free coffee, I stepped toward a middle-aged election judge wearing a Kara Kopetsky button and a name tag that identified her as Beverly.
I gave Beverly my name and handed her the electric bill. Beverly then asked to see some ID.
I told her the electric bill was sufficient identification. Beverly wasn't buying it. "How do I know that you're David Martin?" she asked.
Much to my wife's horror, I pitched a bit of a fit. I told Beverly she was wrong. I asked for a supervisor. Not making any effort to keep my voice down, I said it was appalling that a voter knows more about the election laws than a paid worker.
An election official standing nearby said I should apply to be an election judge. "I have a job," I snipped and immediately felt terrible. Beverly's ignorance was appalling. At the same time, no one who was present will say I dazzled the room with grace.
Beverly continued to squawk. There was some discussion about whether I had shown up at the right precinct, even though I had just signed a book with my name and address. Finally, I received a ballot.
A queue to vote had built up by the time I exercised my franchise. A few steps out the door of the church, my wife remarked that the line hadn't formed until we showed up.
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The point is that MO voters are not required to show a Government or State ID at the poll, the MO Secretary of State has a whole list of documents that voters can provide to verify their ID and utility bills are on the list. If you are a registered voter, than the the voter registration process verified your identity.
Not everyone has a driver's license or State ID. My 86 yr old grandma has never driven a car and I'd be suprised if she has a KS ID.
I considered making the same stand at the poll yesterday, but it was easier to just hand over my DL and vote.
This story was a bigger waste of space than an "Half off Sarah Palin T-shirts" advertisment. Don't quite what ever job allows you to pay that bill/ID.
The question is how many people were disenfranchised by poll workers asking for ID that is not required. It is not arrogant to challenge authority when the authority is doing something illegal and disenfranchising people who don't have a state issued id because they don't drive.
I don't meekly comply when just any government "public servant" asks "Papers, please". This is NOT YET the Third Reich, thank you very much. You, however are allowed to kowtow as you please.
What's your point... that you can be an arrogant asshole? You're right. Can't argue with you there, tough guy.
What's your point... that you can be an arrogant asshole? You're right. Can't argue with you there, tough guy.
Dude, if you don�t have a government issued ID, you are pretty fucking weak anyway. Good luck getting on an airplane or getting a job when your run at The Pitch is over.
But, you really proved the point that being a penis is insufficient reason to deny you a right to vote.
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