Brianna Lyman writes for the Federalist about a blow against election integrity on the West Coast.
In California, voters with no government ID can still vote so long as they show a gym membership, credit card, utility bill, or other low-security identification.
Individuals wishing to register to vote in California are prompted on the secretary of state’s website to provide their driver’s license identification number and/or the last four digits of their Social Security number. But both sections give applicants the option to select a box indicating they lack that form of identification.
If an applicant checks both boxes, he would later be prompted to provide other identification, the California secretary of state’s office told The Federalist. Upon further inquiry, an office representative said individuals could provide proof of identity by showing items such as a credit card, a utility bill, or their gym membership. …
… The email directed me to a state statute that lists acceptable documents with which voters who have no SSN or driver’s license may prove their identity. The list includes a “health club identification card” or other “identification card provided by a commercial establishment,” a credit or debit card, student ID, a bank statement, a utility bill, an insurance card, or even a sample ballot, among other options. …
… Senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies Hans Von Spakovsky told The Federalist that the policy is “absurd.”
“Allowing a gym membership is ridiculous,” Spakovsky told The Federalist. “I can create a gym membership card on my laptop using Microsoft Word. In fact, that’s the whole reason states require a government-issued photo ID for all kinds of things, including getting a marriage license in most places or cashing a check or [to] buy alcohol. The idea that you would use a gym membership to prove ID is just absurd. That does absolutely nothing.”
