It seems like there’s one political skirmish after another these days.  The latest one centers on whether voters should be required to present a photo ID.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot claims that voter fraud is rampant.  He recently wrote an Op/Ed piece for USA Today and said.…

“In recent years, my office has secured more than 50 voter fraud convictions. Those include a woman who voted in place of her dead mother, a political operative who cast ballots for two people, and a city council member who registered foreign nationals to vote in an election decided by 19 votes. Voter fraud is hard to detect, so cases like these are just the tip of the iceberg.”

I, for one, would be curious to know exactly how long a period of time those convictions took place.  Was it one year, five years?  And, how many voter fraud cases went to trial that resulted in no convictions?  I get voter fraud is hard to detect, but really wonder just how prevalent it is.  90% of an iceberg is submerged, so does that mean there were actually 500 cases in “recent years”?

The other side of the fence will insist this is just a ploy by those terrible Republicans to make it harder for minorities to vote for their favorite Democrat.  They will tell you many minorities are afraid to have a photo ID because they don’t trust the government which ironically aligns them alongside the Tea Party (and you thought there was no common ground).

How many people who previously voted without an ID, would not vote if they had to present one?  Yes, you can say one less legitimate vote is one too many, but you can make the same argument that one case of voter fraud is one too many.  So what is a democracy to do?

There has to be a way to determine how many Texans don’t carry a Photo ID, and how many of them actually bother to vote.  Anybody want to place on bet on which number would be higher?  The number of voter fraud cases, or the number of people who vote without a picture ID.

And, putting everything to the side for just a moment, I have a hard time understanding how anyone can function in today’s world without a Photo ID.  How do you cash a check?  Do you live in cash only world?  You certainly can’t have a back account.  How does one get around?  Walk, take the bus?  You don’t have to have a Photo ID.  to be a citizen of these United States of America, but I gotta believe it would make it much easier on you.

Let’s face it, voter turnout is a joke.  We should be encouraging people to go the polls, and not run away from them, but I still don’t have a problem requiring someone to show a little proof of who they are before they vote.  I just wish both sides of the debate would actually use some facts when making their case, and not spew out a bunch of speculation and presumptions.  I would leave that to the experts like economists and sports bookies.