By Assemblyman Bob Huff

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification when they cast a ballot. The Court ruled 6-3 in the name of integrity at the ballot box. Indiana and a few other states with voter ID laws now join several nations, including Mexico, in enacting statutes to discourage voter fraud by requiring ID to cast a ballot.

Last year I introduced a bill similar to Indiana's law. My bill, AB 9, would have required voters present one of six valid forms of photo identification. Unfortunately, AB 9 was killed on a Democrat/Republican party-line vote in policy committee.

What is striking about the Supreme Court decision is that the majority opinion was written by liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote that voter fraud is real and could "affect the outcome of a close election" and states have a "valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process."  I couldn't agree with Justice Stevens more. When I ran for Diamond Bar City Council in 1995, I came in first place in votes, but after the recount, the number two and three candidates were tied for second place, with the final decision made by drawing one of their names out of a hat. Every vote counts!

It is a shame the words of Justice Stevens and his five colleagues did not echo through the corridors of the Capitol when my bill was heard last year. Instead, groups said AB 9 would "disenfranchise voters" and create hardships for individuals who don't possess ID.

Yet, I would argue that voters will feel more disenfranchised if they know their vote is being diluted by the votes of felons, legal aliens, illegal aliens and others who are not legally entitled to vote.

Americans see the merits of voter ID. A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 77% of voters favor the idea of showing a drivers' license or another form of photo ID prior to voting. Furthermore, The Commission on Federal Election Reform of 2005, a bi-partisan group headed by former President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State James Baker, included a recommendation to require voters to present a photo-ID card at the polls.

Because of our lack of safeguards at the ballot box, California remains vulnerable to voter fraud. However, I applaud the Supreme Court for upholding Indiana's important statute and paving the way for other states to enact similar laws that won't be challenged in the courts. California Democrat legislators, are you listening?