It’s been 10 years since Pennsylvania’s voter identification system was ruled unconstitutional by Judge Bernard McGinley.

A decade later, and Republicans and Democrats are still fighting over voter ID. State Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, recently complained that Democrats aren’t allowing Republicans to bring a bill to the floor for consideration that would place the issue on the ballot for voters to decide the issue. She blames House rules that require 25 House members from each party to sign a discharge petition to bring a bill to the floor.

The blame, in our view, is a bit narrow. We would note, for example, that Republican proposals haven’t really dealt with the issues McGinley raised a decade ago. If voter ID is going to be the state’s policy then the state needs to make it easier to get a state-issued ID. That will require compromise by Republicans and Democrats – a commodity that is in short supply in Harrisburg these days.

If Republicans want voter ID, they have to bring Democrats along by offering ways to meet McGinley’s 10-year-old challenge to create a voter ID system that doesn’t end up excluding large groups of Pennsylvanians. At the same time, Democrats need to realize that voter ID is popular both in Pennsylvania and across the country. A Pew Research Institute poll released earlier this year shows 81% of respondents favor voter ID laws. Of course, there is a great partisan difference that make up that 81% – 95% of Republicans approve of voter ID and only 69% of Democrats. That still means a majority of Democrats approve of voter ID laws in one form or another.

Democrats in Harrisburg know if they let voter ID get to the public it’s likely to be approved. This isn’t the time for partisan rhetoric. It’s time to govern. That means compromise.