THINGS HAVE CHANGED

 

I can remember the time when I knew almost everyone in my community, but things have changed over the past several years. When I was in school there were so many school functions, ball games and the like, that it was only natural to know all of your neighbors. When I became old enough to vote, the precinct workers knew all of the local people and it wasn’t any problem to make sure that the people wanting to vote were who they clamed to be.

 

Today the people that I went to school with have grown up and have families of their own. Often they move back to their childhood home with their families. Those people are for the most part strangers, when they want to exercise their right to vote there needs to be a system in place that will make the process easier for them and the precinct workers. Recently a bill passed in the state house that should clean up our system and prevent voter fraud.

 

 Senate Bill 1150 would require voters to show one of several options of identification before casting a ballot, including a free, state-issued voter identification card. According to State Rep. Sue Tibbs (R-Tulsa) the author of the bill, this legislation would ensure only those eligible are voting. She went on to say, “We have made it easier to vote over the years, and that has not increased turnout but instead has led to a lack of confidence in the voting process. The number one way to increase interest in the voting process is to give Oklahomans the assurance that their vote will count. ...Everyone who is eligible to vote will be able to under this legislation.”

 

Whenever we cash a check or go into an airport we have to show a photo ID. It would be a much better world if we didn’t have to do it, but things have changed. When I fly I really don’t mind going through the security in the airport, I believe it is a small price to pay to have a little more insurance of having a safe trip. Voting is an important part of our political system; I cannot see any problem with showing a photo ID before voting. I feel that it is a small price to pay to have fair and honest elections.