Being required to have a Photo ID in order to vote has been a frequent issue in US legislatures including Minnesota. This year the matter has come to a head…the head court of our country, the U.S. Supreme Court. Whatever direction the ruling of the court goes, it will have far reaching implications to all states.
Indiana legislation requires citizens to prove their identification with a government issued picture ID which would be issued free of charge to those at the poverty level plus an affidavit process on Election Day. The legislation was challenged in Indiana and the Appeals Courts ruled that the legislation was reasonable and constitutional. The Appeals Court ruling is now being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A survey in Indiana of 1,003 Hoosiers in March, 2005 found that 75% supported requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID. NBC News and the Wall Street Journal nation survey found that 81% of the county favored the requirement. In Minnesota in 2000, Law and Politics Magazine conducted a survey with the same issue and around 75% supporting the requirement with large numbers from all political sides and all ages.
Requiring a photo ID makes a common sense provision for election integrity while increasing public confidence in the system and can increase voter turnout as it has in Indiana.
We have gone through great efforts in Minnesota to be sure we have paper ballots while using technology to help cast and count. All sides have agreed that public confidence in the outcome is critical. The same level of integrity in who gets a ballot should be the same as for counting the ballots. Fraudulent ballots when mixed with legitimate ballots, even when meticulously counted, makes a mockery of election integrity.
The Boston Globe reports that the court does not appear to be very interested in reversing the Appeals Court ruling.
The 2008 election may be the first election in modern times that uses a picture ID to connect the voter to the vote cast in certain states. Will it also be happening in Minnesota?