Poll: Democrats and Republicans Support a Voter ID-Check Law

Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz not only alienated the GOP when she accused the Republicans of wanting to bring back "Jim Crow" because they support voter-ID at the polls, she lined up against the feelings of three-quarters of the country.

A new national telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports finds that 75 percent of likely U.S. voters “believe voters should be required to show photo identification, such as a driver’s license, before being allowed to vote.” [Read RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: Anti Voter Fraud Reforms Are Practical, Not Partisan.]

The problem for Democrats, who almost universally oppose the idea and are trying to use it to inflame the passions of Hispanic and African-American voters, is that, to most Americans—as evidenced by the Rasmussen poll—the idea is just too reasonable to be ignored.

Look at the numbers: Rasmussen found 85 percent support for photo ID among Republicans, 77 percent support among non-affiliated voters, and even 63 percent support among Democrats. The poll also found, not surprisingly to anyone who understands the American electorate, “support for such a law is high across virtually all demographic groups.” [Check out a roundup of political cartoons on Democrats.]

It says something when, as Rasmussen found, voters think that letting ineligible people vote is a bigger problem than preventing legitimate voters from casting a ballot, by a margin of 48 percent to 29 percent. There are those, chiefly Democrats, who deny that such a problem exists anywhere in America—except in Florida in 2000.

There are a number of problems with the American electoral system. They are not serious enough to throw it into disrepute, but they do deserve attention. When you have, as is the case in at least one major American city, more people registered to vote than the Census Bureau says live there, the potential for fraud exists. It is not unreasonable to take steps to combat it—especially such non-intrusive steps as asking people to prove they are who they say they are before letting them cast a vote.

We are asked regularly to produce identification every day in America—like when cashing a check or renting a car, when getting on an airplane or when entering an office building. There are a whole series of everyday, ordinary occurrences in which producing an ID card is routine, and to which no one reasonably objects. Few of these things are as important, however, as when we exercise our right to vote.

Even one fraudulent vote diminishes the value of every vote legitimately cast. It may be our most precious right—and one we have every right to reasonably protect.

• Read Reince Priebus: Anti Voter Fraud Reforms Are Practical, Not Partisan.
• Check out a roundup of this month's best political cartoons.
• See political cartoons on Democrats.