Md. allows voters to use many IDs

May 5, 2008

Unlike the Indiana legislature and the U.S. Supreme Court, the General Assembly of Maryland has appropriately balanced making it easier for citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote and reducing the risk of election fraud ("A voting setback," editorial, April 30).

In Maryland, if your identity is challenged on Election Day, you can use several forms of identification to prove that you are who you are: a voter registration card, a valid Maryland driver's license, a Social Security card, any state- or federal government-issued ID, any employment card with a photo ID or a copy of a current bill, bank statement, government check or other government document that shows your name and current address.

This procedure is part of the Voter's Rights Protection Act of 2005, which we introduced. It was enacted over the veto of then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Efforts to deny the franchise are more subtle today than they were when peaceful demonstrators were bloodied in Selma, Ala.

They are no less harmful to our democracy.

Lisa Gladden Samuel I. "Sandy" Rosenberg

Baltimore

The writers are, respectively, a state senator and a state delegate.

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