Pennsylvania's six-month-old voter identification law took plenty of heat when state Supreme Court justices heard an appeal of the law that was upheld by the state's lower court in August.
Opinions on the law are emotional, and that's understandable, since voting is one of our treasured rights. But just because it's a right, does that mean there should be no checks on whether a vote is legitimate?
We don't think so.
And in the context of what is going on around the world, we believe people in this democracy should consider this right quite a privilege.
To legitimize that privilege, all that's being asked is a suitable form of identification. For those without one, efforts have been made for several months now to easily get one. There have been massive education efforts to facilitate this and massive education efforts to make people aware of what to expect on election day in November.
While there have been some unusual cases in the news, anyone who is registered and wants to vote in November can do so and, if they don't have the proper ID now, there are lots of ways to get it rather easily.
When people buy a pair of shoes, attempt to put them on a charge account, and are asked for ID, we don't recall a lot of stories or concerns about them being asked to provide that ID.
We also don't recall a lot of politicians decrying the practice as many of them now are, suggesting that an effort to legitimize each vote in the election is somehow a strongarm tactic.
We should all care that each vote in an election is real, no matter our political leanings.
The state Supreme Court justices Tuesday ordered the lower court judge to stop the voter ID law from being applicable to the November election if he finds voters cannot easily get ID cards or if he thinks they will be disenfranchised. Arguments before the judge are scheduled for Tuesday.
Which gets us back to our original premise: Anybody who wants and needs to get a voter ID can easily get one.
