Untold Story of the Voter ID Debate

Natalie Butler, a 2012 graduate and former student government president of the University of Texas at Austin, said a Texas law that would prevent voters from using student IDs could have a negative effect on the voting process. (Courtesy: Lizzie Chen/News21)

It's getting harder and harder for students to go to the polls.

At least, that's the case for some states such as Georgia, Texas and New Hampshire where going to the polls has turned into more of a burden than a privilege for college students.

We'll start in Georgia. College students in state colleges and universities can use their student IDs as a form of identification on election day. However, students at private institutions, such as the prestigious Morehouse College, are not allowed to use their student IDs. The reason? Lawmakers claim the "lack of uniformity among school IDs would be a burden for poll workers."

Just for curiosity, I compared the student cards of five different North Carolina schools: Elon, Wake Forest and Duke (private schools) as well as N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill (public schools). Have a look for yourself and you see if they all look different. The point is, wouldn't presenting a card from a state institution cause the same "burden" on poll workers (whatever that may be) as a private institution?

Georgia state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, a Democrat, has introduced three bills since 2008 to accept IDs from all accredited schools, rather than just public schools. Not surprisingly, all three failed. Morgan got the idea in 2008 from one of her office interns, Aubrey Patterson, who was a poll worker. Patterson told Morgan that in the 2008 elections, he saw both private college and state university students told they could not use their student IDs at the polls.

"Accepting student IDs makes voting more convenient," Patterson said, "because many students don’t have driver’s licenses and don’t have a reason to carry another form of ID."

There's an even worse situation going on in Texas. The state legislature passed a law that banned all forms of student ID (public and private) as valid at the polls but still allowed a gun permit to be an acceptable form of identification. The measure is being blocked by the Department of Justice and is under review.

Another problem in Texas and other states is the residency of students. Out-of-state students must choose which state they want to vote in — their home state, where they may have to file an absentee ballot, or at school, where they face scrutiny from local residents.

And the attack on students doesn't end in these two states.

New Hampshire received national attention when state House Speaker William O’Brien, a Republican, mentioned voting restrictions that would affect students, such as same-day voter registration, and then attacked how he presumed students would vote.

“Voting as a liberal, that’s what kids do,” he was recorded as saying. "They lack the life experience and they just vote their feelings.”

I don't know about the rest of my fellow students, but I for one don't vote on my "feelings." What are we in, some kind of therapy session? This ploy by lawmakers in all states is a blatant attack on students and it needs to be stopped immediately.

With the last election showing a record turnout among voters in the 18-24 age demographic, the youth vote will be just as important as it was then. 

You can read more on this story here.