Attorney General Eric Holder is quite right that voter ID laws discriminate—but they discriminate against the person who would steal the vote of another, not against members of minorities.

It is absurd to claim that members of minorities are less adept at presenting identification than non-minorities. The use of IDs is ubiquitous. We all constantly present proof of who we are. An anti-ID panelist on TV last night claimed there is no proof of voter fraud to justify the ID requirement.

J. Christian Adams begs to differ. Adams is the former DOJ lawyer who resigned after the department declined to prosecute the New Black Panthers (who brandished a club and made racially-charged comments at a Philadelphia polling place). Adams has written about observing rampant voter fraud as a DOJ lawyer.

One form of voter fraud: 

I’ve watched people in states without voter ID seek to vote who were clearly not the people they said they were. During one election, I saw a young man give a name. It caused the women working the polls who knew him to laugh at him and tell him to stop fooling them. He insisted, even under watchful eyes, that he was this person everyone knew him not to be. Everyone was laughing, but the poll workers relented and reluctantly gave him a ballot, somewhat perturbed that he pushed the issue. For a brief moment, he was someone else. And since voter ID was not the law in this state, he voted a regular ballot.

Adams cites other abuses, not all of which could be prevented by requiring an ID. But the ID rule has the potential to curb many abuses—that is, if election officials, who, according to Adams, sometimes face intimidation, do their jobs properly. (Finding out why some county voting rolls contain more voters than residents is also a very good idea.)

Americans had their faith in the integrity of the electoral process shaken in the Florida recount of 2000. Who can forget the image of the voting official trying to interpret a hanging chad? Legal battles over the outcome of an election are commonplace now. In light of these developments, doesn't it make sense to enact voter ID rules?

I am glad to hear that the supporters of ID laws are now talking about voter fraud and not allowing their opponents to promote a false narrative. Adams has produced a paper that charges that the left is better prepared to contest elections than are conservatives. Rather than having to contest elections, we should protect their integrity. Minority voters should be vocal in rejecting the condescending notion promoted by Mr. Holder.