In a party line vote Monday, the Indiana House passed legislation that could ultimately require most voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.
With all of the recent encouragement to curb voting hassles each November, this move comes as a major back step in Indiana's effort to increase voter turnout.
On the exterior, this bill has good intentions. It's aimed to help eliminate the possibility of voter fraud, something of great concern considering the close calls of the past two presidential elections. In reality, the bill takes citizens one step closer to having a national identification card and system, something many privacy advocates have expressed dismay with for some time.
For most of us, the idea of showing a government-issued ID is nothing out of the ordinary. We need one to legally operate a motor vehicle, board a commercial aircraft and, at some places of business, cash or write checks. It's hard to think of this bill as a personal issue if you already have a driver's license of identification card. Those who do not have one of these laminated plastic cards, though, could tell you exactly what we mean.
Voting is a given right for all U.S. citizens 18 years of age and older; it is also one of the pillars by which this country is supported. Further restricting citizens' access to cast their ballots is disruptive to a healthy democratic process. That said, requiring would-be voters to have certain identification might reduce the potential for fraud, but it will also reduce voter turnout as a whole.
Democrats in both the House and Senate stand against the bill, saying that senior citizens, minorities and low-income citizens without valid IDs would all be kept from casting their vote. Combined with other citizens simply lacking the proper documentation, the bill would come as a blow to the efforts so desperately trying to raise voter turnout over the last few years.
Above all else, perhaps the best way to authenticate legitimate voters is by verifying their information from the start.
Indiana's current voter registration form (available at www.in.gov) requires only a valid name, address, identification documentation, voter identification number and signature. Said number is required to be a person's state driver's license number if available, otherwise a registering voter must provide the last four digits of the social security number. The documentation can be anything from a photocopy of a valid photo ID to a bank statement showing proof of address. Everything short of a identification card is required for the process. Raising the bar to the next notch would add a new level of loops for registering and registered voters alike to jump through.
Loops that only complicate the process for would-be voters across the state.
And if the last two year's elections have taught us anything, it's that every vote counts.
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