General Assembly Passes Voter ID

This past Thursday night during the regular monthly meeting for the Johnston Tea Party, the Rhode Island General Assembly was hard at work passing last-minute legislation. One of these pieces of legislation was Voter Identification at the polls, which was strongly supported not only by the Johnston Tea Party, but Tea Party groups throughout the state.

This bill would require voters to present a driver’s license, a passport, military ID or a Voter Identification card to vote.

Opponents to this bill state that the elderly and the poor, who might lack identification, would be disenfranchised to vote in any future election if this bill was to pass. But supporters like the Johnston Tea Party state that this bill would only help prevent voter fraud not only in the Town of Johnston but statewide.

To cite an example, look no further than your own backyard in the Town of Johnston where, in the 2010 elections Agnes Mancini and her husband Anthony where both charged with fraudulent voting. The current state Law states that a resident votes where the person resides. Now according to a Providence Journal article on June 4, 2011 State police checked various records and registrations and found that the couple had lived in Smithfield for at least 10 years.

If Voter Identification was in place at that time point, also with the proper training for the citizens who work at the voting place during the 2010 elections, would have realized that this the Mancinis lived in the Town of Smithfield. 

At the end, the June 30 vote was a step in the right direction to make sure that in the upcoming 2012 elections will be secure for every resident not on only in Johnston but statewide.