What are voter ID laws, how are they enacted, pros and cons, and a bipartisan solution.
Now that the election is over, one thing you may hear about in the next coming year or two is voter identification laws. Voter ID laws is one of the more partisan issues dividing our country. People supporting voter ID laws (predominantly conservative) argue that voter ID laws are a must and should be enacted. On the flip side are the liberals, who tend to disagree with such laws, citing racial discrimination. Let’s breakdown the arguments for and against voter ID laws, and what I think would be a good, bipartisan solution.
What is the concept of voter ID laws? Simply put it is the idea that states should require ID at polling places before you vote to prevent in-person vote fraud. The idea sounds easy to get behind in theory, but critics of such measures suggest otherwise, which I will get into shortly.
Voter ID laws are subject to state legislatures; that is, states are allowed to establish voting laws how they deem necessary. In allowing states to run their own elections (of course, there are certain rules they need to follow, such as the date in which elections occur), they are free to attempt and pass voter ID laws in their respective legislature.
These states already have some strict voter ID laws in place (meaning, they do require photo ID before voting): Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and New Hampshire.
Those requiring non-photo IDs are Montana, North Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, and Connecticut.
Lastly, states that require no ID are Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Let’s cover the pro (yes, singular) and cons (albeit very few as well) to voter ID laws
Requiring IDs at the time of voting could help prevent/stop voter fraud. This one is obvious- if you have proper identification, it would be pretty tough to “fake” who you are. This measure would help ease the worry for many people (predominantly conservative. As aforementioned, this is one of the more partisan issues of our time) about voter fraud happening in their area or nationwide. Ensuring that every vote-eligible citizen has proper ID could help diminish voter fraud even more.
This is a little longer mostly because of the logistics behind it. I’m going to start with an argument that isn’t quite as partisan: money. There are two arguments within this one. First- poorer Americans that cannot afford government ID could potentially lose out on the chance to vote. Depending on where you live, this form of ID can cost up to $60 (for a drivers license, depending on state). Requiring an ID while not providing it for free can generate a legal argument: it can be viewed as a form of “poll tax”, which is illegal. It should be noted, however, some justices, including the liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, has dismissed the poll tax argument (in which he said after retiring in 2010 “[he] has never seemed comfortable with his role in the case…reaching what he called “a fairly unfortunate decision”).
Second is distribution of IDs; according to the Brennan Center for Justice, in Minnesota, to ensure every eligible voter has proper ID, it would cost roughly $25 million. Of course, this is on a state-by-state basis; in Texas, for example, it would cost roughly $2 million, whereas in North Carolina it would be anywhere between $850,000-$2.5 million.
Many on the left oppose voter ID laws for racial reasons; according to the ACLU, “nationally, up to 25% of African-American citizens of voting age lack government-issued photo ID, compared to only 8% of whites”. Americans overall, about 21 million, do not have the proper government-issued IDs.
Adding another expense just for the sake of voting can be tricky. Those voters that lack proper ID may also struggle with transportation for any number of reasons, adding yet another hurdle to an essential American right.
The last “con” is that voter fraud is rare. Like…incredible rare. Justin Levitt, an American Constitutional Scholar and professor at Loyola Law School, LA, has been studying voter fraud since 2000. Since 2000, there have been 31 incidents of in-person voter fraud in more than 1 billion ballots cast. In these 31 cases, it is indeed true that voter ID laws may have prevented them, but the cost/benefit is awfully skewed.
There has also been serious doubt cast on the concept of “voter ID laws also give more confidence to voters”; according to a paper published by Stephen Ansolabehere from MIT and Nathaniel Persily from Columbia Law School, “the use of photo identification requirements bears little correlation to the public’s beliefs about the incidence of fraud”.
I think both parties can win: states that would require IDs to vote should supply them free of charge. Give government issued IDs to everyone 18 years and older so that everyone that can vote is able to do so. This is something that will be bipartisan (finally) and alleviate concerns that many conservatives have.