There has been a lot of handwringing by local conservatives in recent days as they look for proof of supposed election day fraud in the heavily Democratic city of Milwaukee. The city Election Commission's executive director Lisa Artison stated yesterday the fact that 10,000 voter verification cards couldn't be sent out is not unusual and that the number is comparable to 2000. Illegible voter registration forms is one explanation. Registration forms with missing information is another.

Not surprisingly, there's no such effort by these politicians and activists to monitor voter registrations from conservative areas like Waukesha or Green Bay. On the surface, it looks like sour grapes from those who were disappointed George W. Bush was unable to carry Wisconsin in 2004. Wisconsin hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984, the year Democratic candidate Walter Mondale was only able to pick up two states against Ronald Reagan.

However, I do agree with those who are upset over the infamous tire-slashing incident where vans rented by the state Republican party for GOTV efforts were sabotaged, and I said as much when it was reported. Those responsible should be charged and brought to justice for this crime.

The need for more election reform still exists. In Wisconsin, there's currently no requirement for voters to present a photo identification at the polls and so far bills to change that have failed or been vetoed by the governor. While I haven't seen evidence that this has been exploited in Wisconsin, it's conceivable that it could be by groups of all political persuasions. On this issue, I've come to the same conclusion as Kos that Democrats ought to support a requirement for voters to present some form of photo ID. The integrity of the vote is paramount to preserving the public's faith in the election process. It's the same reason that we ought to ditch these electronic voting machines with no paper trail that are prone to being hacked.

One issue I will not give ground on is same-day registration. When I lived in Maryland, I had to register a couple months out from election day in order to vote for president in 2000. Having grown up in Wisconsin, it made me appreciate how much we cheeseheads value the right to vote.

Hopefully, at some point Democrats and Republicans can collectively develop reasonable steps such as these to reduce the potential for fraud while preserving and expanding the access voters in this country deserve to hold their government accountable.

UPDATE: While I support the concept of a photo ID requirement to vote in order to avoid the potential for voter fraud, those who don't already possess a photo ID ought to have it subsidized by taxpayers. Anything less amounts to a de facto poll-tax.