Voting with photo ID
Voting with Photo Identification should be the norm... but it's not.
The current methods employed to vote in central New York State encourage voter fraud.
Consider the following...
Yesterday I voted on a referendum for the local government (school district) to raise 5,500,000 U.S. Dollars by increasing the school tax imposed on home owners.
If passed, the home owner would have to pay an extra $8 for every $100,000 of assessed value on their real estate holdings. The referendum passed with 520 voters effectively saying "Tax more of the daylights out of us!" and 93 said "Keep your tax raising schemes away from me!"
When I approached the voting area I did not have to show any form of identification.
I did not have to prove that I was a resident of the locale in which I was casting my vote.
I did not have to show proof of age.
I did not have to show proof of citizenship.
I did not have to say a single solitary word to prove that I could speak English.
I did not have to show that I knew how to read.
Yet, I was allowed to step up to a table and on blank line #48 I wrote my name, signed my name, wrote down my address and then proceeded to a voting machine.
Once I had positioned myself in front of the voting console, and with the opened curtains behind me I pulled a red handled lever from left to right thereby closing the curtains behind me and allowing me to cast my vote.
Voting was for a single referendum item. If I wanted to have more taxes heaped upon me I simply had to flip a blue tab for "yes" and if I did not want to be taxed was given the option to flip a red tab for "no".
I will keep my actual voting decision confidential but suffice it to say that people who cast a "no" vote will have to cough up the extra taxes because more people voted for the referendum than against it.
Here's a thought for all those people who like getting taxed: "If you don't feel you're paying enough taxes why don't you pull out your wallet and make a generous donation to your favorite autonomous taxing authority."
Here's another thought: "Why doesn't the local, State and Federal governments raise the money they need by taking donations instead of taxing the populace?" (Answer in post script at end of this post.)
Being a true believer that voters should prove that they are eligible to vote, and since I practice what I preach, I did the following.
When I approached the person who was in charge of the "sign-in" sheet I plainly plopped my driver's license face up on the table next to the register.
As I was filling in the blanks on line #48 an official voting booth observer and the voting booth assistant both made comical remarks about my showing a photo id.
"Now, that's the first time we saw that happen today."
"He's just showing his license to make sure he's not under age."
"He doesn't want us to think he's not old enough to vote."
Wow!!!!
I didn't say a word during the entire process. I didn't acknowledge their pithy remarks or show that I knew how to speak English.
I simply signed-in, voted and left.
Oh yes, I made certain I left with my identification. Not only did I need it to drive home legally but, I'll need it the next time I head out to the voting booth.
Respectfully,
Gerard LeBlond
AboutYourWealth.com and SellinfoProductsOnline.com
P.S. Why don't governments subsist solely on donations? They fear that they won't get as much from donations as they would from taxation.


