Requiring Pennsylvania's voters to show proof of identification when exercising their franchise has got Gov. Ed Rendell in a huff.

Rendell promised to veto a bill currently winding its way through the Legislature, saying the requirement to show identification recklessly places a new burden on voters.

Wait a minute.

The governor is saying it's reckless and burdensome to ask people to flip open their wallets and verify they are who they say?

What is truly irresponsible and outdated is a system that does not to require voters to show some kind of identification when they go to vote, which is the system that is currently in place across the commonwealth.

In this day and age, when with a click of your mouse you can steal someone's identity, it hardly seems too much to ask of voters to furnish a driver's license, credit card, birth certificate or whatever form they choose.

There is no more important function for a democratic society than voting.

And logically, an important component of voting is the assurance of the voter's identity.

The bill that is in the Legislature now seems to appropriately tailor the requirement of proof of identity to fulfill this component. That is, as long as what the Legislature passes is tailored within the parameters of the Constitution, then Rendell can put his fears to rest over the disenfranchisement of Pennsylvania voters.

The alternative to showing proof of identity is to continue with a system that lacks any real safeguards.