Photo ID law like a poll tax

9/5/2013

A proposed law that would require Ohio voters to have photo identification would be a poll tax, and that’s outlawed by the 24th Amendment (“Taking out the vote,” editorial, Aug. 13).

The charge for a state ID at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is only part of the tax, because a person would need two other pieces of “acceptable” identification, such as a certified copy of a birth certificate, to get the card.

Those who are homeless, unemployed, or among the working poor may not have the leisure time or the transportation to get from one office to the other to put together the pieces needed to get the card from the BMV.

Who’s defrauding whom?

BEV BINGLE

Doyle Street

 

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Photo ID doesn’t suppress voters

You have to have valid photo identification to buy a house, rent a car, rent a hotel room, and do a host of other things. Yet you think it should be unconstitutional or illegal to require someone to have valid ID to vote.

Ohio already requires this, and so do more than 30 other states. It has been ruled constitutional in Indiana by the U.S. Supreme Court,

If the law is based on Indiana’s law, then it is legal and constitutional, no matter what your editorial board thinks.

The Supreme Court’s decision outranks your opinion.

DANIEL GRAY

Defiance

 

Homeowner awaits noise study

Every week I read in The Blade about the state’s plans for highway improvement, yet there has been no mention of the noise pollution along Route 24 between the Fallen Timbers Monument and Interstate-475.

At times, the traffic noise in our backyards sounds like a NASCAR race. This noise keeps us from enjoying outdoor activities and increases our stress level. What will it take to get the problem fixed?

FRANK JOHNOFF

Monclova Township

Editor’s note: An Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman said: “ODOT continues to study the area to see if it meets federal criteria for noise wall installation.”

Editorial correct on Cheerio case

I would guard my food too, if my receiving food depended on the irresponsible owners of many dogs (“Dead for a fine,” editorial, Aug. 24). It’s a learned behavior.

The Blade got it right. If the Lucas County Dog Warden’s office can find the animal’s owner, it should have given the dog back. Animal shelters have priced themselves out of reach for many people.

The county’s dog warden doesn’t have a halo.

KEN BOOHER

Perrysburg