Dem Rep. Kamlager-Dove: Voter ID Is Poll Tax, I Don't Always Have to Show ID at TSA Because I Have 'Additional Checks'

On Tuesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) responded to a question on why people shouldn’t have to show ID to vote when they have to show ID to do other things by saying that “when I go to TSA, because I’ve already gone through additional checks, I don’t always have to show my ID. When I go to buy a pack of beer, I don’t always have to show my ID.”

Co-host Kailey Leinz asked, “[W]hen you see the TSA agent you often interact with while you’re traveling, you show him your ID, should the same not be required for you to vote?”

Kamlager-Dove answered, “I do believe that this is an updated version of the poll tax, and it is, I think, the Republicans’ play for voter suppression to happen, probably because they’re seeing that the big, ugly bill has been disastrous when polled with the American people. Folks are concerned about how much their onions cost, how much the rest of their groceries cost, their gas costs, etc. And I have to tell you, when I go to TSA, because I’ve already gone through additional checks, I don’t always have to show my ID. When I go to buy a pack of beer, I don’t always have to show my ID. So, that’s not really true. And there are a number of seniors who would be scrambling to find the kind of ID that would be required. Would this be the same across all states? What happens if you have state laws that are competing with this? There are so many questions. And, ultimately, I think, this is a design to prevent folks from voting or to intimidate them when they go to the polls. And I have to tell you, Kailey, that the one thing that we all have, the one power that we all share, is our right to vote. It is also important to reiterate that only folks who are supposed to be here who are citizens are allowed to vote. So, the suggestion that we have to prevent the wrong folks from voting, that’s already in place. But this is a scare tactic, and we should be wanting more people to vote, not depressing the folks who are interested in voting, who now may fear that they’re not able to.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett