Brandon Rivers works to sign up voters a The Roof Above, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. A North Carolina photo voter identification law enacted nearly five years ago but got stuck in litigation is finally being implemented withthis fall’s municipal elections that wrap up next week. (AP Photo/chris Carlson)
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York says requiring voter ID in the proposed SAVE Act is tantamount to restoring Jim Crow voting standards, which once stopped minority voters. Schumer says the legislation is “reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws” and would act as a means to suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections.
“I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: The SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws on the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Schumer said.
The updated version of the SAVE Act would require people to present photo identification before voting and would require states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when people register to vote. It would also remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., countered Schumer’s accusation in a post on X. “If you are a minority that wants a voter ID, apparently you are for racist policies.”
So, is there a case for stricter voter ID?
As a former longtime resident of Schumer’s hometown, that voter security was lax at the voting polls.
Before leaving New York City five years ago, I never missed a vote. My wife and I lived in Kew Gardens, Queens, for 30 years. We voted in all primaries, general elections and everything else, including bond issues that were forever asking for the city or state to go deeper into debt. (I voted against every bond issue.)
Political campaigns in the Rancid Apple were always entertaining. I ate them up like the hot pastrami sandwiches at the kosher delis that once existed in our neighborhoods but were driven out by high taxes and a hostile business climate.
Ben’s Best of Rego Park closed a few years ago when the city wiped out most of the parking on Queens Blvd. That made it impossible for many elderly patrons to drive to the deli, but our then-mayor, Bill de Blasio, had one of his aides say that the customers could take the wretched government subways or buses to the deli. Our elderly neighbor, a longtime Ben’s customer, could no more take subways than I could pitch for my beloved Yankees.
I love a good political campaign. Watching career pols squirm is “the greatest show on earth.” It reminds me of when my wonderful parents took me to the circus every year. Since my youth, I thought political campaign performers compared favorably to the circus stars: The clowns.
What was it like voting in New York City for many years? It was interesting. It was frightening. I voted at PS99 on Kew Gardens Road.
The amount of voter ID you had to provide at the polls was not challenging. It was zero. Indeed, if you knew my name and address in Kew Gardens, you could say you’re Gregory Bresiger and vote. No one stopped you. No one asked, “Are you really that goofball Bresiger guy? Well, show me ID.”
It also never happened to my wife or anyone else since I would often watch the action at the polls.
The no-security approach was in effect the first time I voted, when we moved to the neighborhood in 1989, and the last time, some months before we moved in 2020. That is not surprising given that the New York City Board of Elections, in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City, was often criticized. The critics were often members of the ruling party. Indeed, Mayor de Blasio complained about the board. A year or so before we left, they had a Republican primary in the Bronx. There were no Republicans on the ballot!
Recently, we moved to Pittsburgh, a one-party city that hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in a century and which has an all-Democratic city council. We went downtown armed with numerous photo ids. The clerk told us to just give the last digits of our Social Security numbers. She promised me a voter card would come quickly. Three weeks later, no card. I called. They promised my card. A week later, none. A week after another. Then another. No matter, we had tickets to the Big Top called elections.
I certainly don’t want to miss any of the coming political circuses. So, my wife and I no longer object to showing a photo ID than I object to showing an ID to be able to fly to Europe or go into any building that could be a target of terrorism.
I bet my favorite clown, Emmett Kelly, of Barnum and Bailey Circus, would agree.
