I keep my cards and cash in a cute silver case. Right now, I have the following forms of identification on me:

-credit cards
-library card
-Wisconsin Union membership card
-TYME card
-employee discount card
-driver's license

In addition to all of those, I also have a birth certificate, video rental cards, old college picture IDs and a social security card back at home. Like most Americans, I don't suffer from a lack of ways to prove who I am. And, it's a good thing since I need to show identification when I go to the bank, write a check at a store or try to purchase alcohol.

One place I don't have to show ID, however, is at my local polling place. Once I registered to vote, I've shown up at the polls, told the workers my name, they checked the list and I voted. While that system is convenient for me, think about how easy it is to mess with it. All someone has to do is know where I live and they could go vote in my place. And, in my case, given my ambiguous first name, women or men could steal my vote.

Some people want to change this. They want to require ID at the polling place. Predictably, there's a public (and liberal) outcry against this. Madison's Channel 3000 Editorial Director Neil Heinen says:

There are plenty of problems with voting in this state. Having a picture identification card is not one of them.

First of all the process of voting itself should be as simple as possible. Voting is one of our most basic and important rights. Anything that makes it more difficult to vote should be viewed suspiciously. And there have been so few voting problems associated with identification that this proposed requirement is just not warranted. And there is no defense for disenfranchising the people who would most likely not have a photo ID.

The real problem with voting is a political system that has become so rigged in favor of incumbents that voters no longer see any purpose in going to the polls. If politicians are sincere about making voting more accountable they will but their energy into serious political reform, not unnecessary tinkering.

I don't even want to touch Heinen's comment that the system is "rigged" in favor of incumbents, but I do take issue with just about everything else he says. Apparently, more than 123,000 Wisconsin residents don't have either a driver's license or a state-issued photo ID. That includes 85,000 seniors. Because of this, people are whining that this would disenfranchise these seniors. This is ridiculous. It's not as if these people couldn't get IDs between now and the next election. If the media is so worried about that, they can donate free airtime to run "get your ID" PSAs. Both political parties can run "get your ID" drives and get these folks to the DMV much like they'd get them to the polls.

Of course, this isn't the really worry. The real worry is that by forcing people to show identification we'll cut down on votes from illegal aliens and college students who vote both at school and their permanent residence. Oddly enough, both of these groups tend to vote for the same party. And, oddly enough, that party is the one opposing measures like this. Coincidence?

Too many people think they can throw out scary words like "disenfranchisement" and all the opposition will cave. But every fraudulent voter actually does disenfranchise people legitimately exercising their rights. Every college student from out of state who voted both in Madison and their hometown for John Kerry last month effectively cancelled the vote of Wisconsinsites voting for Bush. And vice versa.

Yes, we have a right to vote. Just like we have a right to bear arms. However, part of living in an orderly society is that we may have to go through a hoop or two to exercise these rights. Big deal. Frankly, it's time for people to quit whining about the election and, in their own words, move on.