Identity theft in the voting booth

When Election Day rolls around on May 17, I plan on voting, as I usually do, at the Rehabilitation Center on 36th Street.

That is, unless you beat me to it.

You see, in Pennsylvania -- as is the case in 26 other states -- there is no requirement that voters show any form of identification when they arrive at designated polling locations. To vote in my place, you would have to do little more than show up, announce my name and scribble a rough replica of my signature in the registration book. For your convenience, a spotty reproduction of the aforementioned signature will appear on the page for you to copy.

Be sure to let the poll workers know that I'm registered in the 27th Ward, Third Division. But if you cannot remember this, I'm sure they will kindly look it up for you.

Reasonable people should see some problem with the ease with which this voter fraud can be carried out.

Gov. Ed Rendell, however, is not one of them.

Rendell vetoed a bill last Monday that would have required people showing up to vote to present identification to prove they were, in fact, who they claim to be.

"I veto this bill because it is designed to prevent a harm which simply does not exist," he said at a press conference at the National Constitution Center.

Apparently, the governor has fallen out of touch with the city he used to preside over as mayor. Philadelphia -- along with scores of other large cities from Chicago to San Francisco -- has been dealing with voter fraud since the 19th century. When Rendell's successor was elected in 1999, anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 fraudulent ballots were cast, depending on whom you ask. The race was decided by a mere 7,000 votes.

But even in this city -- where there are more registered voters than there are residents -- Rendell stays on his high horse. After all, he says, he's looking out for the disenfranchised.

"At a time in our nation's history when voter participation is dropping to alarming levels, the government should not be taking action that will turn away bona fide voters from our polls," Rendell said Monday.

The problem the 106 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who supported HB1318 had with the current system was simple: Too many who were not bona fide voters were not being turned away. As it stands, voters are required to show photo identification the first time they vote at a polling place after they register. From then on, a signature will do.

The bill, which was first introduced last April, called for voters to show either photo identification -- something every member of the Penn community has -- or any other document that lists the person's address, such as a pay stub or a utility bill. It also included a provision that would waive the $10 fee for obtaining a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania identification card for those who could not afford one.

Under the legislation, it would have still been easier to vote for president than to take out a book from the library.

The idea that there are no safeguards to prevent someone from voting two, three or a dozen times in the city is absurd. The Constitution guarantees each individual the right to one and only one vote. Rendell, by vetoing the bill, sends a powerful message that he cares less about ensuring fair and proper elections and more about getting people to the polls who may have a high propensity to vote for him. He is seeking re-election this year, you know.

The guy running against him, Republican Lynn Swan, released a statement earlier in the week that included this barb: "The idea that presenting a form of identification would somehow disenfranchise people is as ridiculous as it is untrue."

Elsewhere, 24 other states require some form of identification at the polls, and Missouri is currently considering enacting similar legislation as well. Georgia recently joined five others that ask for photo identification. The British Parliament voted last week to require all of its citizens to have identification cards within five years.

There is no reason to allow people to choose our government without first establishing who they themselves are. Everyone should have the unabridged right to vote, but those who run elections should have the duty to ensure Joe Smith casts his own ballot and not mine.

But until then, I guess I'll just have to get there early from now on.

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