I can understand why the left is frothing at the mouth. The Supreme Court had become a fairly reliable way to circumvent the voting public and the legislature in inventing new rights and pushing us down the socialist path. Hence the shock and disbelief that the Court has ratified some simple and straightforward measure for preventing vote fraud. America is a very closely divided country between tax-eaters and taxpayers, socialists and libertarians. Our election management is appallingly incompetent and corrupt. There has been ample evidence of widespread vote fraud in every recent election. Motor-voter and other perfunctory registration schemes are designed to facilitate fraud. We have 20 million illegal aliens who have a great interest in voting, and who have been encouraged to vote by Democrat party politicians. If Americans can't trust the election process, and there is a huge body of evidence that their mistrust is well-founded, then our democracy is at risk. Which, come to think of it, is what the left has had in mind all along. Even ultra-marxist John Paul Stevens understands that his own position is at risk if we trash democracy through rampant vote fraud.

Hardly. There is a widespread black market for fake IDs, from passports to drivers' licenses. How do you think illegal aliens are able to get jobs for crissakes?

For anybody who really wants to rig an election, this law won't do jack squat. Republicans are hopelessly stupid.

The same people who claim "there is no vote fraud" claim that photo ID won't stop it because "its so easy to get fake ID and commit vote fraud". Which is it? And who says it's only illegal aliens who commit vote fraud? And who says it's only Republicans who want to prevent vote fraud? I agree, Republicans are stupid, because they have allowed the Democrats to subvert and corrupt the voting process to the point that it's totally untrustworthy. No Democrat has ever won an election in a fair or honest way, and Republicans are stupid for letting them get away with it for so long.

doctorfixit:

The same people who claim "there is no vote fraud" claim that photo ID won't stop it because "its so easy to get fake ID and commit vote fraud". Which is it? And who says it's only illegal aliens who commit vote fraud? And who says it's only Republicans who want to prevent vote fraud? I agree, Republicans are stupid, because they have allowed the Democrats to subvert and corrupt the voting process to the point that it's totally untrustworthy. No Democrat has ever won an election in a fair or honest way, and Republicans are stupid for letting them get away with it for so long.

Democrats don't like vote fraud either it's just that this law just makes it harder for a large portion of traditional Democratic voters to vote. It is voter suppresion by Republicans, pure and simple. Republicans were the true purveyors of real vote fraud in 2004. In Ohio election the exit polls showed Kerry as the winner but the Diebold machines (owned by Republicans) gave the election the state, and the presidency, to Bush. Of course the software is "proprietary" so there can be no outside audit and there are no paper ballots either.

It's funny that Republicans don't favor any laws that would outlaw such machines.

A "large" portion of American citizens lack photo IDs? Where are the statistics on that? And even if that is true at this moment in time, you can get official IDs for free. So, nobody who truly wants to vote is going to be denied. (And, let's be honest, anybody who won't bother to get a free ID will also be too lazy to go vote.)

Ah, the "too lazy" argument. Getting a voter ID card is quite easy for the young, that is agreed. For the elderly who have trouble getting around, it becomes more difficult. It isn't impossible, of course, but laziness is a cheap shot at people who have legitimate mobility issues. On election day, there are usually carpools and vans to help folks get to the polls. On every other day, they're on their own.

But the doctor has a semi-good query amidst his ranting: which is it, black market ID cards or no vote fraud? Here's your answer: it's no vote fraud.

Your opening salvo is a nice attempt at fear mongering, but the whole "woe is us, 20 million illegals voting" argument is not only weak, it's completely invalid. It has nothing to do with a voter ID card law; you'd still have to be registered to vote, ID card or not. What will 20 million illegals do? Show up en masse at a polling place and say they are Jim Wilson from Topeka? What happens when Jim shows up to vote?

Perpetrating fraud with fake voters is one of the stupidest and most detectable ways to scam the system. That's why it never happens--the real fraud comes AFTER the votes are taken. You pay off or pre-emptively place ONE person, and they fudge the numbers or lose some ballots. You don't pay off 20 million people.

But go ahead and continue with your baseless accusations of "rampant voter fraud". Then prove it. That's what trips you up though, isn't it? You do realize that a "huge body of evidence" isn't evidence when it's just stories you tell your children to make them scared of the big bad liberal machine, right?

All your ID law does is disenfranchise the poor, the elderly, and yes, even the lazy.

Where is your evidence for widespread vote fraud i.e. ineligible people voting? Where is your proof that requiring voter photo ID will be an effective solution? Anecdotes and "beliefs" don't cut it.