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16 Jan, 2017 23:18

MLK’s son and Trump discuss national voting card ID

MLK’s son and Trump discuss national voting card ID

Martin Luther King III, the son of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, has met with president-elect Donald Trump to discuss a national voting ID card.

The meeting coincides with Martin Luther King Day, and King III said they had “a constructive meeting,” on Monday about the “broken election system and we believe our solution… will give everyone an ID.”

King’s son wrote in his Op-ed in the Washington Post at the weekend about the broken electoral system that was hampered by legislative efforts to make it harder to vote. His solution is a national identification card, an idea supported by previous presidents and civil rights activists.

“All Trump has to do is direct the Social Security Administration to add a photo to the Social Security card of any citizen who needs it,” Martin Luther King III wrote in the Op-ed. “The likely cost of this move –about $18 million – would be virtually insignificant given the benefit of ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to exercise his or her right to vote.” 

Many African American leaders see the distribution of a free government ID as a critical boost to low-income Americans who cannot open a bank account without one. The lack of an ID not only makes it more difficult to vote in several states, but it also often makes individuals dependent on check-cashing operations that charge high commissions.
King declined to get drawn into the Lewis-Trump dispute, saying "in the heat of emotion, a lot of things get said on both sides."

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