The poll workers who check you in on Election Day do an immensely important job in our republic. They are regular folks who volunteer their services out of a deep sense of public spiritedness. So why would anyone want to harrass them, upset them or generally make their jobs harder by showing up to the polls today without a picture ID?

Under New Hampshire's new voter ID law, poll workers will ask you for an ID when you show up to vote. You can vote without an ID if you sign the challenged voter affidavit. That provision in the law exists to make sure that people who forget their IDs or don't have one can still vote. It is proof that so much of the left-wing propaganda about the new law was deliberately false and misleading. Still, that propaganda continues.

A few left-wing activists intend to make a political statement today by showing up at the polls without an ID and filling out the challenged voter affidavits. Their point: To protest a law that they say disenfranchises voters by requiring that they show an ID.

But if the law does what they say it does, then they would not be able to vote. The very fact that they can vote without showing an ID proves that their claims of disenfranchisement are patently false. All this protest will do is cause headaches for poll workers and voters who happen to be standing in line behind the protesters.

No harm is done by asking voters for an ID. It is a small but important effort to ensure the integrity of our elections. To make the day run more smoothly for everyone, if you have a photo ID, just show it when you vote and keep the line moving. The place to protest is in the voting booth, not at the point of check-in.

For anyone who needs a recap of the voting process today, please see Durham Town Administrator Todd Selig's column elsewhere on our web page.