Voter ID issue will now be up to voters

The heated national debate on requiring photo IDs for voters will now go before Missouri voters Nov. 8 following an override this week of Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the issue.

But before you get too excited - if such things excite you - rest assured, if approved by Missouri voters the issue will surely land squarely in a federal court.

But future court rulings aside, I commend the GOP-led Legislature for giving Missourians a voice on this critical issue.

By now everyone should know the arguments in the case of photo IDs.

Democrats strongly and unanimously oppose voter IDs because they argue it disenfranchises minority, poor and elderly voters who form their base.

Republicans counter that the simple process of voter IDs is just another step to assure the integrity of voting and remove any aspect of voter fraud.

Here's the part of the argument that I don't understand.

Though the proposed IDs are free and highly accessible to everyone, why is it a problem for minority voters or the poor to comply with such a simple process?

And here is the perfect argument in support of the issue.

On Friday of this week a special election was held for a Legislative seat in a minority district of St. Louis. The reason for the special election? Voter fraud in the first election where hundreds of highly-questionable absentee ballots were submitted.

A federal judge took one look at the voting patterns from the August primary and immediately ordered a new election.

Instances of voter fraud may be somewhat rare and isolated but in this one Missouri election, fraud was abundantly clear.

It goes without saying that the need for a photo ID in our current society is an everyday occurrence. You know the routine - you need a photo ID to rent a video, fly on an airplane, etc.

But Democrats know that many of their voters will not take the initiative to get the photo ID and thus, their opposition.

One court ruling against the IDs came this July in North Carolina. The federal court ruled that the requirement for the photo IDs was to target "African Americans with almost surgical precision."

Why? Why are some groups unable to be held accountable in such a simple and common sense manner to assure the integrity of our vowting system?

To me, the Democrat's argument against the proposal falls short. I can't say with any certainty that there is widespread voter fraud. But I also can't see how this measure would disenfranchise anyone.

The argument to me is just another polarizing wedge using race to separate the American public.

Democrats should be more interested in voter integrity than propping up their base with a phony argument.