Voter ID law limits right to vote

I would like to remind Patricia Stagg on voter ID (Fence Post, May 24) that voting is not a privilege, but it is our constitutional right. Driving is a privilege.

Voter ID laws are in fact a poll tax. Having to pay $10 to $20 dollars in order to have a picture ID for voting, although it may not be a big deal to Ms. Stagg, is quite a big deal to someone who does not have the money to spare.

Will I not be able to vote for my choice because nowhere on my Illinois driver’s license do I see where it states that I am a citizen of this country? My son-in-law, a legal alien here, carries a valid driver’s license. So how is a picture ID going to insure that one is actually a citizen and has the right to vote in this country?

There are other problems with voter ID laws that need to be addressed. How would those who are afraid that our elections are being hijacked propose that we deal with the nursing home vote? Do we expect bedridden senior citizens to be wheeled into the DMV for a picture ID? Or the absentee vote? How would ID’s be checked for absentee votes of our men and women in the service of our country?

I believe it was Grover Norquist who said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation that (paraphrasing), “We don’t want more people to vote. We want less people to vote. The more people that vote, the less our chances are to win.”

Yes, the voter ID laws are solely to suppress the votes of citizens that Mr. Norquist and his likes consider not desirable. Plain and simple.

Mary O’Connor

Gurnee