Your vote countsIdentification is required to drive a car, get on a plane, and collect government benefits, but for some unknown cheating? reason, Colorado Democrats refuse to require a photo identification when folks show up on election day to register and cast a vote.

A bill by Rep. Don Coram of Montrose was put to the guillotine in the House kill committee this week that would have protected against fraudulently cast ballots, but Democrats said no because getting an ID is too much trouble and prevents voter fraud.

“There is no evidence that this bill will protect the integrity of our elections, but there is evidence that this bill would restrict access to our democracy from underrepresented groups,” said Lizzy Stephan, deputy director of New Era Colorado.

Actually, there is evidence it would deter voter fraud:

Secretary of State Wayne Williams told the committee that oftentimes when his office or county clerks try to mail elections materials to people who registered to vote within the final weeks before an election, those materials are returned because the addresses are invalid.
“There were 8,458 people who registered and voted on the same day in 2014,” Williams said. “That’s the only group of people this bill deals with. When we mailed their confirmation cards, 50 of those bounced back, saying no such person at this address. Although it is a small number, it is important for the integrity for the elections process.”

It speaks volumes when it’s Republicans who want to protect voter integrity, and Democrats who want to keep the process vulnerable to fraud.

Despite all the hand-wringing over the possible disenfranchisement of young voters between the age of 18 and 24, we think that if these young adults are responsible enough to cast votes, they should show that same responsibility by adhering to voting requirements, and that should include showing identification for same-day voters.