Honest Elections Need Photo IDs

Following up on my post of June 13, 2006, "If You Liked Florida in 2000, You Will Love This," let me call your attention to John Fund’s article, "How to Run a Clean Election," in OpinionJournal (July 10, 2006).

I honestly believe that the need to insure honest, credible elections is one of our most important domestic issues. And honest, credible elections start with requiring photo IDs to vote. As John Fund notes, countries all over the world require photo IDs. You cannot say that places such as Canada, Germany, and Britain are not democracies.

To those who object to photo IDs on the grounds they are discriminatory or too hard for some people to get, I say, "Baloney." A photo ID requirement is not going to stop minorities from voting. Minorities are just as smart and competent as anybody else. They’ll do fine.

Beyond that, let me say what no politician is willing to say, but what is true: "If somebody is too lazy or too dumb or doesn’t care enough to get a photo ID to vote, then we are probably better off if they don’t vote."

Voting is a right and a privilege. To protect both the right and the privilege, we need to make sure our elections are honest. One important part of honest elections is requiring a photo ID to vote.