Voter ID fight: Some of the arguments are more about politics than fairness

It is the same old baloney: Asking people to present identification to cast ballots at the voting booth will restrict voter participation.

The presentation is much more dramatic -- and accompanied by stories of people who cast their votes for the first time last election. There are sometimes even a few calls of racism and rights violations thrown in for good measure.

But it is not really a call for fairness. It is poorly disguised politics.

It is simply ridiculous that anyone would say that asking someone to bring a piece of identification to cast a ballot causes undue stress on their psyche.

For goodness sake, you cannot even buy cold medicine or cash a Social Security or welfare check without an ID.

And it is hard to believe that there are legions of people out there who, if faced with having to present their identification, would decide not to vote -- unless they weren't all too committed to casting that vote in the first place.

Bottom line -- lack of identification and loose rules make fraud easier. And it is unfair to those who follow the rules to have their vote diminished by those who cast their ballots twice or who should not be casting them in the first place.

Rules keep people honest -- on both sides.

Manufactured drama does nothing except cover up the real motive -- politics.

Published in Editorials on March 5, 2013 2:44 PM