Why Do Democrats Fear Photo ID?

Democrats in the Georgia Senate have walked out over the passage of a bill mandating photo identification for all individuals casting a bllot in an election.

ATLANTA - The state Senate's Democratic caucus, led by the chamber's black members, walked out of the Legislature Friday after an emotional vote on voting rights.

Immediately after a 7 p.m. vote that would eliminate 12 of the 17 forms of identification that may be used at Georgia polls, a majority of Senate Democrats, including all black members, left the chamber.

"This is wrong!" Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, shouted before the exit. "We will not go back."

All but one other member of the Democratic caucus left shortly afterward. Most Democrats returned to the chamber about 25 minutes later.

"We wanted to at least show them we support them," said Sen. Michael Meyer Von Bremen, D-Albany.

Republican sponsors of the bill said it was an effort to cut down on voter fraud.

You need a photo ID to cash a check most places. You need one to get on a plane. Why shouldn't our polling places and ballot boxes be at least as secure?

Democrats -- especially members of the Black Caucus -- are claiming that the bill is designed to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. The bill, however, allows anyone without a photo ID to obtain a state photo ID from the department of motor vehicles. Those who can't afford one may obtain one for free. Those two provisions mean that there is no reasonable basis for a voter not having an acceptable form of identification on election day.

So I ask again -- why do democrats fear photographic identification of voters? Is it simply victim politics run wild? Or is it because they know that their party will lose fraudulent votes cast by folks who go to different polling places to vote under different names using non-photographic forms of identification?