According to a new study, Voter ID laws don’t disenfranchise voters on the basis of race, gender, age or party affiliation.
U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote – an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.3-billion-observations panel, we find the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. These results hold through a large number of specifications and cannot be attributed to mobilization against the laws, measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement. ID requirements have no effect on fraud either – actual or perceived. Overall, our results suggest that efforts to reform voter ID laws may not have much impact on elections.
Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation claimed that the claim that it wouldn’t stop Voter Fraud is wrong.
Past studies have drawn the same conclusion that voter ID laws do not deter voter turnout, but the new study is “totally wrong†to conclude ID laws don’t prevent voter fraud, said Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation.Â
“How would you show it deters fraud if that’s something that didn’t happen because of voter ID laws?†von Spakovsky told The Daily Signal. “You have to look at convictions in absentee ballot fraud cases. In just four states, the voter ID laws apply the same to both in-person and absentee voting. So, it’s difficult to say.â€
The left and right will likely both try and cite this study to prove there point but it is clear that this study debunks the lefts only argument against Voter ID laws. If Voter ID laws aren’t racist then what is the argument against them?
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