We need photo ID at the polling place

Being a fifth-generation Chicago-area resident, I'm aware that vote fraud is a menace to democracy. Recently there was a debate between Heritage Foundation scholar Hans von Spakovsky and Ohio State University Law Professor Daniel Tokaji on laws requiring a picture ID when voting.

I wish Illinois had such a law.

From the Republican National Lawyers Association:

Professor Tokaji challenged the evidence of proponents of voter ID by saying: "I don't think that the supporters of those laws have met their burden of justification." According to von Spakovsky, photo identification laws prevent voting under fictitious voter registration, double voting by people registered in more than one state and voting by illegal aliens. He said that there are "voter fraud cases all over the country in different places" and such fraud "can make a difference in a close election."

Professor Tokaji's next argument was that "Voter identification laws pose an unnecessary burden that is likely to have an adverse impact on voting rights particularly those of low-income and racial minorities." He claimed that voter ID laws are "hitting people of lower socioeconomic status the hardest."

Hans von Spakovsky cited University of Missouri, Heritage Foundation and University of Delaware studies that all showed that turnout in minority populations did not decrease due to voter ID laws. As for low-income voters, von Spakovsky said that, "Every one of these states put in a free photo ID into the law so if you don't have one, you can get one. Courts who have looked at that have said that it is not a substantial burden to require someone to get a photo ID."

The Ohio State University law professor accused the Republican Party of "exaggerat[ing] voter fraud in an effort to impose new burdens on the right to vote [and] playing to public fear by exploiting the politics of voter fraud." Von Spakovsky responded that, "This has nothing to do with the politics of fear and nothing to do with the Republican Party. It has everything to do with good government."

Listen to the entire debate here.

Technorati tags: law legal crime Illinois elections Politics vote fraud election fraud