Letter: Voting integrity should be protected

Lynda Waddington is concerned about potential moves to tighten Iowa voter ID laws. In her Dec. 17 column 'Lawmakers' top priority is moot point”, she suspects that Republicans in the state legislature '... will push through unnecessary laws ...” including voter ID requirements. She writes that she has '... yet to understand why. Voting is a fundamental right, not a privilege.”

Well, the answer is right under her nose: voting integrity should be protected precisely because it's a right. Maintaining voting integrity is a problem. In October, Des Moines resident Terri Rote was arrested for twice voting for Donald Trump. Melowese Richardson, a Cincinnati, Ohio, resident admitted to voting six times for President Barack Obama in 2012. Other examples abound, but I'm limited to 250 words. You get the idea.

Waddington points out that the Constitution guarantees voting as a right and thus ID laws would obstruct this right. Interestingly, the Constitution also guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but Waddington has no problem to require the permitting of gun owners and proficiency demonstration before a citizen can carry a gun. How's that work? Sounds like a double standard, doesn't it?

Rich Zeis

Walker