Want to vote? You need ID.

Posted on Apr 28, 2008 in Life, Misc. | 1 comment

I don’t often write about politics, as evidenced by this post’s classification under “life” and “misc.” But I’ve heard too much on the radio and net today about a political topic not to comment. It’s the 6-3 Supreme Court decision that ruled Indiana’s requirement of a photo ID was not unconstitutional.

Well duh.

Sure, there are objections that it places an undue burden on the elderly or minority populations. They don’t hold water for me for the simple reason that to vote you need to prove who you are. That proof comes in the form of photo ID. Indiana may be strict in that it requires state-issued ID and on those grounds may attract more lawsuits. (Six other states with photo-ID laws accept student IDs.) An excerpt from the NYT article:

It requires a voter to present a photograph as part of an unexpired document issued either by Indiana or the federal government, a requirement that in most cases can be satisfied only by a current driver’s license or a passport. The state’s motor vehicle agency provides a free photo ID card for people who do not drive, but obtaining it requires a “primary document” like an original birth certificate or a passport.

So non-drivers and those without passports are also covered. And there’s even a provisional ballot option that gives the ID-less 10 days to bring documentation of their identity after voting–that covers just about every circumstance I can think of.

I am a proponent of personal freedoms and government non-interference but this issue seems blown out of proportion. Want to vote? Show ID to prove your identity. Seems simple to me. But, if you disagree let me know.

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