Voting?…I Am Gonna Need To See Some ID

What the fuck? I cannot believe the Supreme Court has just ruled to uphold state laws requiring voters to provide a valid photo ID in order to be allowed to vote. According to the majority opinion (Scalia, Alito, Thomas, Stevens, Roberts, and Kennedy) making such demands on voters does not interfere with the voting process. I can imagine this “minor” detail affecting people’s ability to even register to vote. Voter registration drives will now have to concern themselves not only with registering new voters, but also with disseminating information on how folks can get a valid ID in order to vote. I did not have a valid photo ID until well into my 18th birthday and that was because I had to open up a bank account. I can tell you that it was an ordeal, which included two trips to the DMV in Harlem, waiting in line for five hours on each occasion. In addition to the elderly and poor people, whom critics of the ruling cite as being disproportionately impacting, I would like to also add geographic considerations: people living in urban areas. Growing up in NYC, there was no need to have a drivers license. Driving is only something I learned while living in Providence. I'm sure that rural voters also face similar hurdles, if not worse hurdles, considering our current lack of investment in our public transportation infrastructures. Anyway, I registered to vote on the day I turned 18. Looking back it was good to know that the process did not seem as hassle-prone as it looks like it is becoming.