Judges in Missouri and Georgia have knocked down photo ID requirements for voting, but the Congress voted yesterday to mandate them in federal elections.

The argument always comes down to right vs. left, with too few people in the logical middle trying to figure out how to actually make this work. Instead, you hear about “disenfranchising voters” — which is, of course, the job of politicians, as our 50% voter turnout rate proves. The rest of America isn’t unable to find a photo ID, they just can’t stand the candidates and the level of political discourse in this country.

The obstacles should be easy to overcome, if we can just get past the partisanship. If you need a birth certificate to get a state-issued photo ID, but paying for a birth certificate is seen as a poll tax, then the solution is making those birth certificates free. We need to think “Yes, we can make this work” instead of “No, we can’t make this work.”

Instead, we hear complaints like, “What about vampires? Their image won’t show up in a photograph, so photo IDs are unfair to them!” Fine, so Jay Severin can’t vote. Big deal.

Discuss.