Voter ID

Carding Democracy

In recent years, more and more states—fueled by exaggerated fears of fraudulent voting—have enacted laws requiring that a voter present photographic identification at the polls.

Voter_ID

Although details of the 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.

The stated rationale for the measures—preventing voter fraud—is baseless. Photo ID laws prevent only one kind of voter fraud: impersonation at the polling place, in which an individual poses as a particular eligible voter and votes as that person. This sort of voter fraud is extremely rare.

The impact of this “solution” to the phantom problem of voter impersonation is not trifling; millions of dollars must be devoted to implementation, free IDs, and voter education. While photo ID exacts a steep financial cost, disenfranchising our most vulnerable citizens takes an incalculable toll on democracy.

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Student Voter Fraud Probe Finds No Evidence of Illegal Voting

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A two-month long voter fraud investigation in Maine concludes with no evidence of illegal voting by the 206 students that... Read more

Illinois County Clerk Says Voter ID Laws are Based on Falsehoods

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Cook County, Ill. clerk, David Orr warns against the fine line between protecting and preventing democracy when it comes to... Read more

Weekly Voting Rights News Roundup

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The Republican effort to make it harder for certain people to vote–particularly the new voters that turned out in 2008–was... Read more

New Restrictive Laws Block the Youth Vote

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The recent effort to make it harder for Americans to vote in 2012 hits the youth populations in Wisconsin and... Read more

Tenn. Photo ID May Impose Undue Hardship on Voters, Says Senator

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Photo ID laws have been scrutinized on the state and federal levels for disenfranchising certain voters in an effort to... Read more

Voting Rights News Roundup

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Election season is already underway with the nation talking about the state of voting rights. The War on Voting that... Read more

Barriers to the Ballot Addressed in Congressional Hearing

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Members of Congress are holding a hearing today, asking whether the slew of new, partisan-pushed voting laws were creating “barriers... Read more

Testimony: New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot? Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing

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This is Project Votes testimony on “New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot?”, presented September 8, 2011 before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. Read more

Partisans and Advocates Battle Over Voting Rights

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The “War on Voting”–the partisan-fueled campaign to enact laws to restrict access to the ballot–has received significant attention in the... Read more

Penn. Officials Debating Photo ID Before Senate Vote

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Yet another state is pondering a photo ID law to enact before the 2012 election; Pennsylvania officials–including Secretary of State... Read more