Today, Project Vote is pleased to release the latest policy paper in our Issues in Election Administration series, Photo ID Laws.
Requiring voters to show photo ID in order to cast a ballot has grown to be one of the most popular voter suppression methods in recent years. In the 2004 elections, only five states maintained photo ID laws, and each of those laws provided eligible voters with other, reasonable recourses to attest to their identity. By the end of 2013, however, 19 states had enacted laws requiring that a voter present photographic identification at the polls, 11 of which were strict.
Although details of these laws vary, they all deter otherwise-eligible voters from going to the polls. Those hit hardest are the same groups traditionally marginalized in our election process: African Americans, Spanish speakers, low-income individuals, disabled voters, and youth.
Recently, there have been some encouraging efforts to fight back against these dangerous laws. Earlier this month, for example, Pennsylvania’s strict photo ID law was permanently enjoined as facially unconstitutional under the state’s constitution, which recognizes the right to vote as fundamental.
In this new policy paper, Project Vote attorneys Catherine Flanagan and Estelle Rogers provide a comprehensive study of the issue, examining the history of the trend, the problems with the laws, and detailed analyses of the various federal and state legal challenges to strict identification policies. You can download this new policy paper here.