You may be surprised at the follow- ing information: to vote in Mexico, a citizen must provide not only photo identification, but a thumbprint. This system has been praised by many and was credited with producing the first President from the opposition party. In contrast, when voters head to their polling places here in California next month to cast ballots for the presidential primary, all they will have to do is verbally state their name.

It's disconcerting that, as a state which leads in production, technology and progressivism, we have failed to protect the inherent right of the governed to choose who governs.It is also troubling that other nations have a far more sophisticated antifraud voting system than California. Our state lacks safeguards to ensure that the person casting a vote is actually the citizen who is entitled to do so. Voter fraud is a real problem.

The illegal immigrant who assassinated the Mexican presidential candidate, Luis Donaldo Colosio, was registered to vote in San Pedro, California - twice. A couple from Fair Oaks, California was recently sentenced to 60 days in jail for illegally voting in a school district election.Out of concern for the protection of our state's election system, I authored Assembly Bill 9, which would have required voters to show picture identification at the polls. AB 9 was recently heard in the Assembly Elections Committee, where it was killed on a party-line vote.Is AB 9's failure surprising?

No. Many scream, "disenfranchisement!" at the mention of requiring identification to vote. However, in the state of Indiana, where identification is now required to vote, a University of Missouri study found that voter turnout actually increased. How can the simple act of requiring one of six forms of identification, to which every California citizen has access, disenfranchise those who have the right to vote? Or are Democrats simply more worried about disenfranchising those who don't hold that right than they are about a fair, protected voting system?

Our most valued right is the right to choose those who govern us: even more valuable than boarding an airplane or purchasing alcohol, both of which require photo identification. We must fight to protect this right and the integrity of our elections. Assemblyman Huff is Chairman of the Assembly Republican Caucus. He represents portions of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.