There’s been a lot of talk lately about requiring photo IDs in order to vote. It’s one of those things that sounds like it’s a good idea, but at the same time made me somewhat nervous for some reason. Spencer Overton at MyDD puts that cause for nervousness into words. In a nutshell, a significant number of people do not have photo IDs. So requiring one creates an additional burden to voting. And there’s no guarantee that the requirement would actually do anything to cut down on voter fraud, especially since it leaves absentee ballots – which are increasingly used – untouched.
