The Latest Republican Efforts to Make It Harder to Vote in the Midterms

"Though she had recently moved from Virginia to the bluest of blue-states, I told her that it was possible that sometime in the near future she might need a photo I.D. to vote. That got her attention. If democracy were a religion, the polling place would be her church. Even the hint that she might not be allowed to vote motivated her to dig through her files until she found her birth certificate. It was the original, issued in 1928."

"We navigated the department's website to schedule an appointment, which turned out to be on an insanely hot day in September. When we arrived, we picked our way across the packed and potholed parking lot-my mother uses a walker-until we stood at the bottom of a ramp outside the building that was pitched at an ungodly steep angle. It took my mother pushing the walker and me pulling it to get her to the door."

"Not surprisingly, the office was crowded with an assortment of hot and cranky people. But my mother had an appointment, so I assumed that she wouldn't have to wait too long. This, as you already know, was a naïve assumption. We took a number and waited and then waited some more. Eventually, my mother wanted to leave."

Obtaining voter identification presents substantial practical challenges for many citizens, particularly elderly and disabled individuals. The process requires navigating bureaucratic systems, scheduling appointments, and physically accessing government offices that may be difficult to reach. A ninety-six-year-old woman's experience obtaining a photo ID in Massachusetts illustrates these obstacles: locating original birth certificates, traveling on extremely hot days, navigating steep ramps with mobility aids, and enduring long waits despite having scheduled appointments. These barriers disproportionately affect vulnerable populations who may already vote through alternative methods like mail-in voting, raising questions about the necessity and impact of voter ID requirements on electoral access.

Read at The New Yorker