Down in Mexico, elections are on Sunday, and everyone is supposed to vote. The new president will take over in December, five months away.
President Trump and “Presidente-Electo” Andrés López-Obrador spoke by phone last week. They say that it went well. By the way, I will not be surprised if the two men meet in person, sort of like when President-Elect Reagan and President López-Portillo shook hands in January 1981 at one of the border bridges.
Mexico can teach us a thing or two about voting. The Mexicans have a wonderful voter ID system, as my friend Allan Wall explained:
Each Mexican voter has a government-issued photographic voter ID card, which he presents to election authorities. They have a book with the photograph of each and every voter precinct. Each precinct has such a book.Across from the election authorities are seated representatives from various political parties. When the election authority at the table calls the name of the voter, his name is checked off in the precinct book. The voter also has his thumb stained with ink that wears off in a few days.
It’s a wonderful system, and everyone south of the border speaks highly of it.
Recently, I told a Mexican that some Democrats call it racist to require a photo ID. He looked at me with astonishment and told me to explain it again. I did, and he used some expletive to describe the critics of photo ID.
When it comes to voting, and the integrity of voting, Mexico is doing it better.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.