Ring in the New Year and ring out your voting rights. Sound dramatic? Not really, when you look at all the time lawmakers throughout the country devoted in 2011 toward restricting voting in 2012.

Identification is a given at the ballot box, but an alarming trend emerged when legislators placed restrictions on voter ID in so many states in so little time.

For most of the last century, the nation worked toward widening the path to the voting booth. Last year, however, signaled a frightening turnabout, frightening because while proponents of stricter voter ID laws say such limits prevent fraud, the facts suggest such fraud is virtually non-existent. The imposition of just one specific restriction - requiring a government-issued photo ID - now affects 11 percent of Americans, or more than 21 million citizens, because that is the number of people who do not possess a government-issued photo ID.

Lawmakers in 34 states introduced legislation requiring photo IDs to vote, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan public policy and law institute at the New York University School of Law. Proponents dispute that restrictions will discourage voting, according to the Brennan Center, saying people already need such IDs for myriad aspects of modern life. Opponents liken the requirement to a poll tax, whether or not the IDs are free, because to get them citizens must produce passports or birth certificates that cost money.

The center estimates that the 19 laws and two executive actions that did pass in 14 states could make it significantly harder for more than 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012. Aside from requiring government-issued photo IDs, some of the new laws require proof of citizenship, restrict voter registration drives, abolish Election Day registration, eliminate early voting times and make it difficult or impossible for voting rights to be restored to people with past felony convictions.

Low-income and minority citizens, renters, young people and students are disproportionately affected by the limits, and, as the Brennan Center said in its research, "This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election."

By small example, William O'Brien, New Hampshire's Republican Speaker of the House, who supported restrictive residency requirements targeting members of the military and students, said kids coming out of school are doing what he did when he was a kid, "Voting as a liberal. You know, that's what kids do. They don't have life experience and just vote their feelings."

The bottom line is we have a Democratic president who is up for re-election, and in all of the instances to restrict voting, except one, Republicans put forth this effort. It's not hard to figure out the motivation.

Take note, however, of the recent inside back flip taken by Iowa Republicans, who set the rules for their own caucuses. For their Jan. 3 caucus vote, they allowed same-day voter registration and ditched the required government-issued photo ID in an apparent move to boost turnout.

The rules remain fair in Connecticut. Polling-place ID requirements include a driver's license, a Social Security card or any other preprinted form of ID with your name and address or your name, signature and photo.

Cheryl Dunson, state president of the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan organization of men and women encouraging participation in democracy, said Connecticut's current laws are balanced and serve us well. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said she is proud to say Connecticut has not gone down the path as so many other states have in restricting voters, saying, "People have a right to vote, and to put up barriers at a time when we need people participating is very dangerous."

Connecticut, she said, can look forward in the upcoming legislative session to proposals further reducing barriers to vote.

Lucky us. We could live in Texas, where you'd be required to show your government-issued photo ID and prohibited from using a student ID. The state would, however, accept your concealed weapon license.