Re: A Clearer Picture on Voter ID - New York Times

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: krhoffmanii () gmail com [krhoffmanii () gmail com] On Behalf Of Kenneth Hoffman [krhoffman () bellsouth net]
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 2:19 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] A Clearer Picture on Voter ID - New York Times

Professor Farber,

I live in Broward County FL, which now requires a drivers license or other photo ID to vote.  I've been voting for 30 
years and never before has a photo ID been required.  It has either been a valid voters registration card OR a 
drivers/state issued/military ID.

In the January 29th vote, as we entered the polling place, the front door clerk asked to see our drivers licenses.  I 
produced my voters registration card instead.  I was told I had to have a drivers license.  Once inside, you walked up 
to a bank of computers that had a "memory stick" type device inserted into a USB port.  The device was secured to the 
computer by a thin cable.

You handed the clerk your drivers license, which was then ran through a card reader.  After several seconds the clerk 
asked me to sign a digital screen.  After which a paper copy of my signature and voters information printed on thermal 
paper.

I then walked over to our precinct number, handed another clerk my driver license, and the print out from the first 
clerk.   This second clerk compared my signature to my drivers license and to that of the print out and to that of a 
hard copy she had in a log book.  Once she was satisfied that the signatures matched, she returned my driver license 
and the first print out.  She then gave me another 3x5 piece of paper which was imprinted with a "control number" which 
I had to sign.  Never before have we been forced to sign that paper.

Then we walked over to the voting machine, we gave that clerk the print out from the first clerk which contains all our 
identifiable information AND we gave the clerk the signed control numbered paper. NEVER before has the clerk that 
controls the voting machine been given any type of personal identifiable information.  Once the clerk was given the 
papers, the clerk activated the voting machine and then they wrote something on the papers they were just given.  Then 
the clerk deposited the papers into a "ballot" type box that was locked.

Conceivably the clerk controlling the voting machine could had written on the control paper the machine I used and the 
time.  Now this is a bit of a stretch, but if the time was written down too, then my particular vote could have been 
identified.

I felt very disenfranchised over the whole process.  My vote should be 100% anonymous.

As we exited the polling place, I asked for a supervisor.  I asked a very nice woman why we had to show our drivers 
license when heretofore it has never been done before.  I was told to voice my concerns to the supervisor of elections. 
 The I asked, my daughter has lost her drivers license, but had her voters card and her university photo ID.  I asked 
if they would accept that instead of a driver license.  I was not given an answer, but was told there "may" be 
exceptions to the rules.

Ken Hoffman
krhoffman () bellsouth net<mailto:krhoffman () bellsouth net>

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