Photo proof of ID needed at polls

On the eve of next week's all-important election, what many of us have feared has come true. Four people were indicted in Kansas City yesterday for submitting false voter registration cards. That is why Missouri - and he nation - must demand some photo proof of identification at the polls. The courts have ruled that the identification process will not be mandated next week but, rest assured, there will be a law on the books to address this issue before the next election rolls around.

The four workers - Kwaim Stenson, Dale Franklin, Brian Gardner and Latisha Reed - were all employed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, aka ACORN. That group has come under fire in St. Louis as well as other states for submitting questionable voter registration cards. The indictments this week confirm our worst fears.

How many times do you need to hear it? Photo identification is not about voter suppression, it's about assuring that only those eligible to vote do in fact have the right to vote. ACORN says they have helped in the investigation and I assume they have. But that's not the point. This group, as well as others, clearly was lax in their monitoring process and permitted workers to falsify voter registration cards. If not caught, there is no true way of assuring the American public that the voting process is without fraud and corruption.

But the four indicted this week represent just the tip of the iceberg. There are an estimated 15,000 questionable registrations submitted in Kansas City and another 5,000 or so in St. Louis. And that's just from this one liberal organization who hires anyone off the streets to sign up voters. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that process if flawed.

ACORN says many of the registration cards were "honest mistakes" and that may be the case. But it only reinforces the notion that some form of photo ID should be required because not all sides play fair.