Squaring the Culture

The US Supreme Court decided yesterday that Indiana’s Voter Identification law requiring citizens to show a picture ID in order to vote does not violate the Constitution. The majority opinion, written by Justice John Paul Stephens, argues that requiring Indiana voters to dig up a birth certificate and stand in line at the Dept of Motor Vehicles to obtain a photographic voter ID card does not unduly burden the voter or threaten to curtail voting by the poor and elderly. The Indiana voter ID is free, and Indiana allows provisional voting without the ID.

The case was decided 6-3, with Justices Stephens, Kennedy, and Roberts arguing that the petitioners (Democrats) did not manage to quantify what burden the law placed on poor voters, and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito arguing that the law was not discriminatory since all voters were treated alike. Justices Souter and Ginzberg dissented, saying that the law would probably deter tens of thousands from voting (this is nonsense, in my humble opinion) and that the state did not justify the burden on voters. Justice Breyer dissented because he felt the law unevenly burdened voters who lack a driver’s license. You can read the opinions here.

I’m pleased. The Court did the right thing.

The case will severely restrict the Democratic party’s attempts to flood the polls with illegal aliens voting Democratic, and should also limit schemes to pay voters to vote more than once. The law should go a long way toward restoring public confidence in the voting process.

I have never, for a single moment, believed that Democrats were actually concerned that the poor and elderly would be unduly burdened by the requirement to show photo ID. It’s simply not intellectually plausible. Poor people are required to hold a photo ID to receive welfare benefits in some states, and the system works. Indiana’s law contains appropriate accommodations for those who have difficulty traveling, or who can’t find the documents they need in order to obtain a photo ID. In fact, as Allahpundit points out, the burden of obtaining a voter ID is not much different from the burden of voting itself; the voter has to leave home, travel, and stand in line. If that’s an undue burden, then voting itself is an undue burden.

Nor did I believe that Democrats were serious when they said that voter impersonation was rare. Perhaps it was in the past, but there are millions of illegals in the country today that can easily come up with a bill listing their name and address, but cannot qualify for a photo ID. I don’t know personally any Democrats stupid enough not to see how the law might affect the ability of illegals to vote.

In short, I believe Democrats opposed the law simply and completely because they know their ability to cheat during elections will be curtailed by photo IDs… and I sincerely hope they are correct.

The partisan divide on this issue was striking. The law was passed in the Indiana state legislature with Republicans voting unanimously for the measure, and Democrats voting unanimously against. The petitioners even attempted to use this as an argument for striking down the law, but the Court correctly observed that while the vote was partisan, the reasons given for the law were neutral. See p. 20 of Justice Stephens’ opinion.

Update: Oh, I forgot: Michelle Malkin points out that the plaintiff in this case, who was refused the right to vote in Indiana in 2006, was illegally registered to vote in two states — and taking a homestead exemption to her taxes in both states, as well.