Joseph Cattano: Getting IDs should be focus

Anyone who has raised teenagers has probably experienced asking their child to do some small chore and been confronted with 15 minutes of monologue; why the chore is not necessary, why it should be done later, or why the task is just a dumb idea. What was requested could have easily been done in that 15 minutes. I feel like that is where this state is regarding Voter ID.

We are expending a lot of time and resources litigating and debating the issue, when if the focus were placed on getting everyone an ID, the task would have been done by now.

I know that if I left the United States, I would not be allowed back readily without a valid passport. Yet, I am a natural-born U.S. citizen.

Proving who we are is a normal fact of life today. Saying “I’m me, because I said so” is just not acceptable for any transaction of any consequence. Why should voting be any different? I would think that if the focus was placed on getting a photo ID for those people who don’t have one, and want one, that task would have been done by now at a cost far less than the litigation.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Joseph Cattano: Getting IDs should be focus."