I received a political hit-piece today from one of the candidates for California Secretary of State. It says:

“When you rent a movie at the video store you have to show ID.
Why shouldn’t you have to show ID to vote in California?

     Secretary of State                             Debra Bowen
  Bruce McPherson wants                              is AGAINST
to require ID at the polls.                    requiring ID at the polls."

In case you had any doubt before, papers please! readers now know who to vote for.

And for Mr. McPherson, a clue: We shouldn’t have to show ID to vote, because some people who have a RIGHT to vote do not have an ID. You can’t take away their right to vote, just because they decline to have an optional ID card.

Clue #2: A mandate that every citizen must obtain an ID and present it to exercise their constitutional rights is, in legalese, a “licensing scheme” for imposing “prior restraint” on those rights. The process for obtaining those IDs is going to have to meet constitutional standards for prior restraints. It doesn’t even come close, today.

Addendum: Mr. McPherson lost the election.