Isn’t Life Strange?

In some relatively big news, the Supreme Court recently upheld an Indiana law that requires voters to present photo identification upon arrival at the polling place. 

The media is spinning this as a Republican victory.  Democrats are speaking out in disagreement over the decision and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. 

Here’s an excerpt from a Bloomberg.com article:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told reporters in Wilmington, North Carolina, that he disagreed with the decision.

"It discourages folks from voting," said Obama, 46, an Illinois senator, adding that senior citizens and low-income people often don’t have photo identification.

The Indiana law was enacted along party lines and signed by a Republican governor. Under the measure, voters who don’t have a photo ID may cast a provisional ballot. To have their votes counted, they must visit a designated government office within 10 days and either bring a photo ID or sign a statement saying they can’t afford one.

To obtain a photo ID, Indiana residents must present at least one "primary" document, such as a birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization or military ID.

Democrats contended that the new Indiana law will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters, including a disproportionate number of minority, elderly and poor people.

I don’t want to be overly political about this issue, but the Democrats always say that "blah blah blah will disenfranchise minorities, the elderly, and the poor" when making their arguments.  Though it is important to fight for the rights of every American, these words have become a sort of mantra that does not always ring true, and certainly in this case is a dead end.  Quite frankly, I don’t know of any state that will not issue a photo ID to any of its citizens.  In Illinois for example, you can go to any driver’s license facility and get an official photo ID. 

Due to controversy over the past several elections about election fraud, and due to the importance of ensuring a legal and fair election process, I cannot see why a photo ID law, especially when most of the legal population already has proper identification, is a bad thing. 

I sometimes wonder if the world has gone mad or if it is just me.  Do we want to discourage illegal activities at the polls or don’t we?  I believe we owe it to ourselves to make certain that our elections cannot be corrupted and in no way is an ID requirement an inconvenience or as some might be willing to say, intimidation.  

What say you?