I’m having a hard time understanding the outrage behind these Voter ID laws I keep hearing about. In the State of Colorado, one is given a variety of methods to register to vote. When you obtain a license, and probably also when you obtain any other kind of Colorado state ID, there are sections of the form that allow you to name your party affiliation and register to vote, if you are of sufficient age. Otherwise, you can simply register online, as long as you already have some kind of Colorado Dept of Revenue ID.

It is not unusual or disenfranchising for a state to associate, if not integrate, their forms of ID with voter registration. We should expect states to employ some mechanism of connecting citizenship with voting. Because if you don’t have a State ID, or any state or federal government ID, states have every right to be suspicious of the validity of your vote.

I gather that the strongest argument presented against these voter ID laws is that it will unfairly inconvenience less economically empowered people who may not have an ID. It’s hard to take that kind of argument seriously. Don’t you think that not having such an ID might be contributing to some of their problems? You can easily imagine how not having such a thing could make it less easy to do what you wanted, make it harder to move around and get things done. From my perspective, you will inevitably run into barriers you don’t need to run into if you decline to obtain the most basic of state IDs. If you managed to get plenty done without an one, then that’s excellent. But if you think that states are going to cater to your reluctance to register with them, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. That two hours of your life waiting in line will buy you better convenience for the remainder of your life.

So, does the extreme left have problems with Colorado’s law that requires voter registration to coincide with a state ID? When you go to a polling center, Colorado accepts several different forms of identification, and some need not have a photo. Is it simply the photo that they’re complaining about? I’m used to the mail-in ballot now, which I recommend for everyone because you can just vote in the comfort of your home and take as long as you please on each section. Perhaps Democrats should campaign to encourage people to make sure they have a valid mailing address? If you neither have a government or state ID nor a mailing address, securing such resources should be a higher priority than voting, because without an ID and place to mail you things, how would you go about securing employment? Or what if you wanted to find work elsewhere?

Without crucial resources like these, you are playing roulette. If your state requires you to present one of their IDs at the polls, then you have yet another good reason to grab one. The left should avoid casting less wealthy people and minorities as helpless victims steamrolled by the system and instead encourage people to focus on integrating into polite society. Literacy is key.