Proponents of a voter identification law for Mississippi mayfinally be seeing progress as both the Senate and the House havepassed bills approving the measure.

Differences in the respective chambers’ bills, though, stillhave to be worked out and that makes voter ID’s chances far fromcertain this year.

A potential snag in the resolution process could be a provisionin House Bill 1533 that would exempt anyone born before Aug. 6,1944, from having to show identification. The theory here is thatthose people over age 65 would be the ones most affected by thestate’s past that includes threats and intimidation against blackpeople trying to vote and therefore should be given a break fromthe ID law.

The exemption was removed from the Senate-passed version, andGov. Haley Barbour is not in favor of the exclusion.

While those who would be covered by the exemption will decreaseas time goes by, the fact remains that it would leave a loopholethrough which voting shenanigans could still be pursued. Theexemption, therefore, would further delay the arrival of the daywhen Mississippi has full and complete voter identificationlaw.

The 77-44 vote by which the election reform bill passed theHouse, which has traditionally opposed such measures, suggestsvoter ID may be gaining some momentum.

However, some representatives still bristle at the idea ofvoters having to show identification. Confronting voter IDsupporters’ long-held argument that identification is needed to doa variety of everyday tasks and therefore identification whenvoting should be as well, opponents contend that voting is a basicright – unlike a privilege – that should not be infringed.

There is no argument that voting is one of the most fundamentaland sacred of all rights of citizenships. But other citizens have abasic and fundamental right to expect that elections are beingcarried out in a way that is fair, honest and above-board in allaspects.

In the absence of voter ID, those rights are threatened by thepossibility of people be able to vote multiple times or a citizenhaving his vote cast by someone else. In a state now without voterID, it has been shown that voting by dead people is not outside therealm of possibility.

Is voter ID a panacea for all election ills? No, but it would amajor step in the right direction. Therefore, House and Senatenegotiators would do well to work hard at a compromise and moveMississippi forward in the area of election reform laws.