C L O S E U P I N C L A S S : M O N T H LY P O L I C Y D I S C U S S I O N
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VOTER ID LAWS
CE NTR A L Q U E S T I O N
Should Americans be required to present a photo ID
when voting?
INT RO DU CT I O N
On November 8, 2016, Americans will go to the polls
to elect a new president, to elect their members of
Congress, and to cast ballots for a variety of local officials and initiatives. Yet the voting process is far from uniform,
as voters in different states are subject to different processes and requirements when they arrive at their polling
places. In this Close Up in Class Monthly Policy Discussion, we will examine whether states should require voters to
show a photo ID before casting their ballot, outline the varying state laws regarding this issue, and weigh the pros
and cons of the paths forward.
© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org
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VO T E R I D L A W S : B A C KG RO U N D
The history of voter ID laws dates back to 1950, when South Carolina became the first state to request that voters show a document bearing their name at the polls. Hawaii (1970), Texas (1971), Florida (1977), and Alaska
(1980) followed suit in requesting some form of voter ID—but each state also allowed exceptions for voters who
could not verify their identity. By 2000, a total of 14 states were asking voters to show ID at the polls.1
Momentum for voter ID laws accelerated in 2005, when the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform,
led by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, recommended that states require a government-issued ID—one that is available without cost to the citizen—at the polls.2
Within a few years, Georgia and Indiana established a new, stricter form of voter ID laws which required—rather
than requested—voters to show ID. Under these laws, a citizen without proper ID can vote on a provisional ballot, which is counted only if the voter returns to an elections office within days with an appropriate ID.3 The
Supreme Court upheld the Indiana law in its 2008 decision in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, ruling
6-3 that the law protected the state’s legitimate and “nondiscriminatory” interests in preventing voter fraud.4
The pace of state action accelerated in 2011, 2012, and 2013, as legislatures across the country began passing
various voter ID laws.5 Perhaps the most controversial was a 2011 Texas statute which established that citizens
must present government-issued ID cards when voting. The law allows for state-approved IDs that are free of
charge from Texas Department of Public Safety offices, but critics have argued that it does not account for other
costs to Texas voters. For example, because there are no such offices in 27 of Texas’ 254 counties, some voters
may be required to travel long distances to obtain their free IDs.6
The Department of Justice initially blocked the Texas law as a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.7 But in
2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County v. Holder that the federal government was using an outdated
and unconstitutional formula to determine which states—such as Texas—required federal preapproval of their
election laws due to their histories of discrimination.8 The Texas law is still moving through the courts, but the
Supreme Court’s decision similarly allowed Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia to move forward
with new voter ID requirements.9
2
© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org
VO T E R I D L A W S : BACKGROUND
T H E CU RRE N T C O N T R O V E R S Y
Should Americans be required to present a photo ID when voting?
As of January 2016, voter ID laws were in force in 33 states, and three other states—Arkansas, Missouri, and
Pennsylvania—had passed voter ID laws that had been struck down.10 These laws vary in their toughness, as
each state determines the type of ID it requests or requires, as well as what procedures to follow when a voter
does not have ID.
Click here to learn about the voter ID requirements in your state.
The remaining 17 states use other methods to verify voters’ identities. These methods include having voters
sign affidavits asserting their eligibility, as is done in Iowa and Minnesota; having voters sign poll books, voter
registration lists, or mail-in envelopes, as is done in Oregon; or having voters provide their names, addresses, or
other personal information, as is done in Maryland and New Mexico.11
But as the 2016 elections approach, the wisdom of voter ID laws is a topic of intense debate among voters, policymakers, and candidates. Advocates of these regulations insist that they are the only way to protect the right
to vote, to prevent fraud, and to instill public confidence in the electoral process. Yet critics of voter ID laws insist
that they are thinly veiled attempts to restrict the right to vote, especially among poor and minority voters, and
that they impose unnecessary costs to fight nearly non-existent voter fraud.
© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org
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VO T E R I D L A W S : DE BA TE
Should Americans be required to present a photo ID when voting?
YES: Voter ID laws are a simple, commonsense way to
protect the sacred right to vote.
NO: Voter ID laws are thinly veiled attempts to
disenfranchise voters.
“A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised
by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the
most important rights of the subject, and in a republic ought
to stand foremost in the estimation of the law,” Alexander
Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury, once wrote. “It
is that right, by which we exist a free people.”12
“We have a responsibility to say clearly and directly what’s
really going on in our country, because what is happening is
a sweeping effort to disempower and disenfranchise people
of color, poor people, and young people from one end of our
country to the other,” said former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. “We should be clearing the way for more people to
vote, not putting up every roadblock anyone can imagine.”18
Hamilton’s words are as true in 2016 as they were in 1784.
The right to vote is the sacred cornerstone of democracy—a
right that ensures that each and every citizen has a voice
in choosing their government. Therefore, it is entirely
appropriate for state governments to place safeguards on
protecting that right against fraud.
“There is no evidence of extensive fraud in U.S. elections
or of multiple voting, but both occur, and it could affect the
outcome of a close election,” the bipartisan Commission on
Federal Election Reform reported in 2005. “The electoral
system cannot inspire public confidence if no safeguards
exist to deter or detect fraud or to confirm the identity of
voters. Photo IDs are currently needed to board a plane,
enter federal buildings, and cash a check. Voting is equally
important.”13
It does not matter that voter fraud is rare in the United
States—even one occurrence of someone casting a ballot in
another’s name is unacceptable. “It doesn’t matter if there’s
one, 100, or 1,000 [instances of voter fraud],” Governor
Scott Walker, R-Wis., said. “Amongst us, who would be that
one person who would like to have our vote canceled out by
a vote that was cast illegally?”14
Voter ID laws are not aimed at disenfranchising voters—
they are fair, commonsense measures that aim to protect
every vote. Even the Texas law, one of the strictest in the
nation, allows voters to obtain IDs free of charge. “There
is nothing ‘discriminatory’ about a law that protects the
legitimate votes of American citizens and promotes the
integrity of our elections,” Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said.15
The sad truth is that some policymakers—many of them
Democrats—make dishonest arguments against voter
ID laws because they want to boost turnout among their
own voters, even if those voters are unmotivated and
uninformed. Governor Chris Christie, R-N.J., who vetoed
a 2015 bill to establish automatic voter registration and
increase early voting, said, “Taxpayers deserve better than
to have their hard-earned tax dollars spent on thinly veiled
political gamesmanship.”16
In June 2015, 76 percent of respondents told Rasmussen
that voters should be required to show photo IDs at
the polls.17 And there is a reason for this overwhelming
support—Americans deserve to have complete and total
faith in their electoral system.
4
© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org
Secretary Clinton makes a valid point. In a nation where voter
fraud is nearly non-existent, voter ID laws are a thinly veiled
attempt by state legislatures to depress electoral turnout
among poor and minority voters.
In 2012, Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Turzai, a
Republican who was then serving as majority leader, went so
far as to suggest that the state’s voter ID law would benefit
Republicans. “Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor
[Mitt] Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done,”
he boasted.19 But that 2012 law was struck down by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
“My job as a candidate is to get people to vote for me based
on my ideas. My job is not to figure out a way to keep people
whose views are different from mine from voting,” Senator
Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., said. “Anybody who is suppressing
the vote, anybody who is intentionally trying to keep people
from voting because the candidate knows that those people
would vote against him or her, that person is a political
coward.”20
In 2014, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
issued a report that analyzed the effect of voter ID laws in
Kansas and Tennessee. The GAO concluded that turnout in
2012 dropped at least 1.9 percentage points in Kansas and
2.2 percentage points in Tennessee—or a total of 122,000
votes—thanks to the laws.21 And that decline was weighted
more heavily toward younger voters and black voters.22
Nationwide, the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People has estimated that 25 percent of votingage African Americans and 16 percent of voting-age Latinos
lack a government-issued photo ID. And in Texas alone, the
Department of Justice concluded that 600,000 people lack
the IDs required by the state’s strict voting law.23
These cumbersome laws are not about combating voter
fraud. In fact, since 2000, Loyola Law School professor Justin
Levitt has found only 31 incidents of fraud at a polling place—
out of more than one billion ballots cast during that time.24
“Voter fraud is, in fact, a serious crime in my view. It should
be punished,” said Senator Sanders. “The good news is we
have virtually no voter fraud in America. What is the fraud
[are] the people who are changing laws because of so-called
voter fraud. That’s the fraud.”25
VO T E R I D L A W S : Q U E S T I O N S T O C O N S I D E R
Do you believe voters should have to show a photo ID at the polls? Why or why not?
What restrictions, if any, do you believe the government should place on the right to vote? Explain your answer.
Is voting a right or a privilege? Explain your reasoning.
© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org
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VO T E R I D L A W S : E N D N O T E S
“Voter ID History.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
1
“Voter ID History.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. Commission on Federal Election
Reform. Building Confidence in U.S. Elections: Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform. Sep. 2005. Web. 4 Apr.
2016.
2
“Voter ID History.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
3
“Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.” The Oyez Project. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
4
“Voter ID History.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
5
“Tribpedia: Voter ID.” Texas Tribune. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
6
Horwitz, Sari. “More than Half a Million Registered Texans Don’t Have the Right ID to Vote on Super Tuesday.” Washington
Post. 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
7
“Shelby County v. Holder.” The Oyez Project. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
8
Horwitz, Sari. “More than Half a Million Registered Texans Don’t Have the Right ID to Vote on Super Tuesday.” Washington
Post. 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
9
“Voter Identification Requirements: Voter ID Laws.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 Jan. 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
10
“Voter Verification Without ID Documents.” National Conference of State Legislatures. 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
11
Hamilton, Alexander. “A Second Letter from Phocion.” Apr. 1784. University of Chicago. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
12
Commission on Federal Election Reform. Building Confidence in U.S. Elections: Report of the Commission on Federal Election
Reform. Sep. 2005. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
13
Daprile, Lucas. “Scott Walker Says Most Americans Support Voter ID Laws, Which Make it Easier to Voter, Harder to Cheat.”
Politifact Wisconsin. 29 Jun. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
14
Cruz, Ted. Statement on Texas Voter ID Law Decision. Official Website of Senator Ted Cruz. 5 Aug. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
15
Seidman, Andrew. “Christie Vetoes Changes to N.J. Voting Laws.” Philadelphia Inquirer. 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
16
Daprile, Lucas. “Scott Walker Says Most Americans Support Voter ID Laws, Which Make it Easier to Voter, Harder to Cheat.”
Politifact Wisconsin. 29 Jun. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
17
Roth, Zachary. “Hillary Clinton Lays Out Sweeping Voting Rights Vision.” MSNBC. 4 Jun. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
18
Cernetich, Kelly. “Turzai: Voter ID Law Means Romney Can Win PA.” PoliticsPA.com. 25 Jun. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
19
Lillis, Mike. “Sanders Attacks ‘Political Cowards’ Pushing Tougher Voting-Rights Laws.” The Hill. 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
20
Bump, Philip. “Voter ID Laws in Kansas and Tennessee Dropped 2012 Turnout by Over 100,000 Votes.” Washington Post. 9
Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
21
Bump, Philip. “The Disconnect Between Voter ID Laws and Voter Fraud.” Washington Post. 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
22
Hanna, Jason, and Michael Pearson. “Supreme Court Allows Texas Voter ID Law for Now.” CNN. 19 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr.
2016.
23
Levitt, Justin. “A Comprehensive Investigation of Voter Impersonation Finds 31 Credible Incidents Out of One Billion Ballots
Cast.” Washington Post. 6 Aug. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
24
Lillis, Mike. “Sanders Attacks ‘Political Cowards’ Pushing Tougher Voting-Rights Laws.” The Hill. 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
25
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© 2016 Close Up Foundation.
All Rights Reserved. www.CurrentIssues.org