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ADVANCEMENT PROJECT REPORT HIGHLIGHTS PERILS OF PHOTO ID PROPOSALS

Bills in 32 States Part of National Effort to Turn Back Voting Rights in Advance of the 2012 Elections

April 7, 2011

Denise Lieberman, Senior Attorney, (314) 780-1833
Emily Whitfield, (917) 686-4542
Emily@emilywhitfield.org
mediadesk@advancementproject.org

(WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 7, 2011) – In a report released today, Advancement Project, a next-generation civil rights organization that works to eliminate barriers to voting, is sounding the alarm on photo ID proposals pending in states across the nation that could disenfranchise millions of voters in the 2012 elections.

The report, “What’s Wrong With This Picture? New Photo ID Proposals Part of a National Push to Turn Back the Clock on Voting Rights,” is the most comprehensive document to date examining the trend, analyzing the proposals in each state, and bringing context to the larger political and legal debates shaping these efforts to roll back ballot access.

“Photo ID proposals threaten to roll back voting rights for voters of color in 2012 and beyond,” said Advancement Project Senior Attorney Denise Lieberman, who authored the report and has been working with local and national groups across the nation to analyze the bills and craft strategies to combat them. “In states facing staggering budget shortfalls, it is simply irresponsible to spend millions of dollars to implement a law that does nothing to advance the integrity of elections and makes it harder for people to vote.”

According to Advancement Project, this reactionary trend is part of the largest legislative effort to scale back voting rights since Reconstruction: nearly two-thirds of state across the nation introduced onerous voter identification bills this year. The report looks to the implications of this broad effort.

Among the report’s key findings:

  • Proposals to require strict forms of photo ID to vote have been introduced in 32 states.
  • This year’s proposals are the strictest voter identification proposals ever considered by states. Most severely limit forms of acceptable identification voters may show and make scant allowances for those unable to obtain the specific form of identification required by the law, even if they have other forms of ID that can verify their identities at the polls.
  • The photo ID proposals are part of larger coordinated efforts by conservative and Tea-Party backers, designed to reduce the voting strength of voters of color who saw record turnout in 2008, in advance of the 2012 elections.
  • Voter impersonation, the only voting irregularity that could be addressed with photo ID, is exceedingly rare. The proposals do nothing to address other voting problems that are known to occur.
  • Studies show that approximately 11 percent of voters – about 21 million people - lack or cannot obtain a current state-specific photo ID. African American voters are twice as likely to lack current state ID.
  • Photo ID proposals will cost cash-strapped states up to $20 million to implement.
  • Many of the proposals may be legally flawed and constitute a “poll tax” by imposing undue costs and burdens on voters.

As noted in the report, voters of color, senior citizens, young voters, people with disabilities, immigrants, the working poor and students are disproportionately less likely to have current state ID or face substantial hurdles to getting one.

The report also highlights the coordinated effort to implement restrictive voter identification laws, which have been linked to conservative and Tea Party backers including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, which has funded model legislation on which many proposals are based. The groups are reportedly aligned with other voter suppression efforts, including voter challenge campaigns coordinated by Koch-funded groups, and legislation to require proof of citizenship, eliminate same-day voter registration, or limit voting for those with criminal records.

At a recent conference in Texas, the Tea Party-backed King Street Patriots unveiled its “True the Vote” campaign pledging to place one million poll challengers at precincts around the country in 2012 to challenge voters’ identity and eligibility, using photo ID laws to facilitate such challenges.

The proposals are nothing but a solution in search of a problem, said Advancement Project co-director Penda Hair. “If lawmakers are concerned about protecting the integrity of elections, they should start by ensuring that legislation does not needlessly impose barriers to voting.”

Unlike driving, cashing a check or renting a movie, voting is a right, and efforts to regulate voting cannot unduly impede access to the ballot box. The majority of states already require all voters to show ID at the polls and penalties for voter impersonation are stiff. Many voters may not realize the hurdles some people face in obtaining a state-issued photo ID.

The implications to democracy are significant, according to Edward Hailes, Jr., General Counsel and Managing Director of Advancement Project. “Photo ID requirements would erode the integrity of elections by systematically excluding large groups of eligible voters and place them in second-class status, reversing a century-long trend of opening the voting booth to traditionally disenfranchised groups,” he said. “These proposals significantly roll back the clock on voting rights and could have dire implications for years to come.”

Associated Publication

Filed under Voter Identification, Voter Protection, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin