Voters’ issues: Picture ID for non-drivers, absentee voting for college kids
By Linda Alice Dewey
Sun contributor
Kids going to college who are planning to vote absentee, take note. Same for the elderly who want to vote but no longer have a driver’s license.
There is some confusion over the regulation of having to show a picture ID when you vote and on how to vote absentee. Though picture ID regulations have been in place for a few years, you — or someone you know — may have a changed situation. It might help to remind ourselves now so we have time to get things in order for Nov. 8.
According to Glen Arbor Township clerk Bonnie Quick, if you’ve never voted, you can register to vote at any secretary of state office. But here’s the catch: “The first time they vote,” she says, “they have to vote in person.”
If the presidential election is their first, and they’re at school, that will be a problem. However, if, for instance folks live in Glen Arbor and have already voted, say, in the primary election, they’ll need to send Quick [or their town clerk] a letter asking for an application, giving their registered address as well as their school address where it should be sent. Then, says Quick, “I mail this application to them. They send [the filled-out application] back, and then I mail them a ballot.”
What’s the deadline for an absentee ballot to reach the township? “They have to get the ballot back to me before the polls close,” answers Quick.
Another tricky issue for voters might be the requirement to show a picture ID, especially for those who no longer drive or have never driven. Not a problem, says Quick. Just go to your local secretary of state office. “You can just get a state issued ID,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be a driver’s license. They will issue just a state ID with a picture on it.”
What happens when people show up without a picture ID? “If they don’t bring it,” she responds, “they can sign an affidavit on the back [of the application to vote that everyone fills out when they come to vote] if they don’t have their ID.”
