PRINTWe need to see some ID
February 14, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Anyone who’s had to wait in long lines at the DMV and provide seemingly endless amounts of paperwork knows what a pain it is to get a photo ID. Inevitably, the DMV is miles away from anywhere.
For me, it’s the necessary hassle of an expired driver’s license. But for those who can’t drive a car, it’s a hardship that hardly seems necessary. This hadn’t occurred to me until Georgia tried to enact a now overturned law requiring a photo ID to vote. Opponents contended that it put senior citizens and those without a car in unnecessary hardship to exercise the most basic of American rights.
This ruling came to mind as I learned more about the Real ID Act approved by both Congress and the president in 2005.To obtain this ID that could eventually be required to so much as hold a job, a person must provide already existing photo identification. If obtaining a photo ID is considered a burden for voting, I wonder how it can be an acceptable requirement for people to have an income.
Of course, half the impediment of obtaining a photo ID is getting to the place that provides them. In some cities, not even post offices are nearby. Better planning that focuses on developing walkable, concentrated town centers rather than driving-required suburbs could help solve this problem.
Our cover story explores the issues Columbia faces including possible costly infrastructure changes if it continues to grow out instead of up. And when it comes to growing up, cities must consider how to plan now if they are to reach their future goals. Issues of establishing ID, it seems, apply to cities as much as people.
