It is a bit of a mystery why both sides are so passionate on this issue.
On the one hand, it seems like a relatively simple requirement to ask
someone to show identification when voting. I am asked to show ID when I
enter a courthouse, pay with credit card, cash a check, or a whole list
of other mundane tasks. I also do not buy the notion that there is a
sizable population without identification or that anyone in that
category is unable to make a trip to their county clerk for a free voter
identification card.

At the same time, most voter fraud that has
plagued Arkansas has been focused on absentee ballots, such as the
infamous case of former Rep. Hudson Hallum. Tightening the rules for
absentee ballots would seem to be a better way to prevent fraud.  However,
the benefits of the photo ID bill seem to outweigh the potential harms
opponents have raised. It also seems to be an issue on which cooler
heads prevail.

Full editorial by Jason Tolbert a conservative political blogger. His
blog — The Tolbert Report — is linked at ArkansasNews.com. His email is
jason@TolbertReport.com