The Supreme Court on Monday upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification at polling places before casting their ballots.

“There is no question about the legitimacy or importance of the state’s interest in counting only the votes of eligible voters,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his opinion. “While the most effective method of preventing election fraud may well be debatable, the propriety of doing so is perfectly clear.”

Voter identification laws continue to play a central role in the nomination fight over GOP Federal Election Commission pick Hans von Spakovsky. The former Justice Department lawyer is now being criticized for pushing similar requirements in Georgia and elsewhere while at the department.

— Matthew Murray