There were 120 million voters casting ballots in the 2004 election. Add the total number of voters in all the other federal elections between October 2002 and September 2005. The total prosecutable cases of voter fraud that the U.S. Department of Justice could find consisted of 38 charged and 24 convicted. There is no epidemic of voter fraud.
It is imperative that we understand that the voter fraud epidemic is a pure fabrication and fantasy.
Since voter fraud barely exists, there is no rationale for tightening voter identification requirements. Given the real risk of reducing turnout there is every reason to avoid any additional laws that inhibit voters and voting. Yet twenty-five states have significant voter identification requirements, including seven that mandate official photo identification. The Court gave a green light to all states to create meaningless identification requirements if it serves the majority interests in state legislatures.
Photo ID's as an Effective Barrier to Voting
A statewide survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted in Indiana in 2007 by the Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, University of Washington. The study measured the impact of Indiana's new voter identification requirement, the law upheld by the Supreme Court. The highly pertinent results below show the clear bias of the law:
Data from Tables 1.1, 1.1.b, and 2.1 (pp. 18-19)
Six percent fewer black registered voters reported sufficient voter identification for Indiana elections. Of the general population, a pool for new voters, nearly 12% fewer black citizens have sufficient identification.
In addition, the Indiana study found that 21% of registered voters without a high school diploma lacked sufficient identification to vote while 11.5% with a college diploma lacked sufficient identification.
Most pertinent to the 2008 presidential election, the study confirmed the political bias of the Indiana voter identification law. The study concluded:
"Among registered voters with valid ID, 41.6% consider themselves Republican8 and 32.5% are Democrats. In contrast, among registered voters without proper ID, 34.8% are Republican and 38.0% are Democrats. Beyond the exclusion of certain demographic groups outlined above, this data suggests that a greater number of Democrats are excluded from voting under Indiana’s voter identification laws. (p. 12).
A major study on the impact of voter identification was conducted by scholars at Rutgers University and the Moritz School of Law, Ohio State University. The authors analyzed 2004 election data from around the country. Turnout in states with photo ID requirements was 58.1% compared with 64.2% in states that required voters to give their name as the main requirement (Rutgers, 2006). That's 10% lower turnout associated with a photo identification requirement.
Summary data from Rutgers study (p. 6)
In 2004, turnout was 10% higher in states where voter identification involved stating one's name than in states where a photo ID was required.
The researchers backed out states with photo ID requirements and found that Latino and black turnout was down disproportionately in states with another intensive identification requirement, signing an affidavit stating that you are the voter that you claim to be (Rutgers, p. 11).
A recent study on Georgia's voter identification law was conducted by scholars at the University of Georgia, Athens. They looked at the most common voter identification, a driver's license. Race and age (being black, being young) were associated with the absence of a driver's license. Blacks had a much higher probability than whites of lacking a driver's license. Registrants without drivers' licenses were 50% less likely to vote in a general election. Those without photo ID were significantly more likely to vote in Democratic rather than Republican primaries. These findings show the highly partisan impact of the requirement for photographic voter identification.
This evidence is clear. Voter ID laws have a negative effect on minorities and, it appears, younger and less educated voters as well. The requirement reduces turnout and, by doing so, it reduces the right of citizens to vote, all to prevent a non existent crime.
Partisan Evidence, Partisan Decision
In deciding for Marion County and the state of Indiana, the majority cited evidence from the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The politically appointed commission administers the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA provides funding and sets standards for the nation's voting technologies, voter registration databases, and other election systems. The EAC actively sought to suppress then rewrite two reports it had commissioned that showed voter fraud to be insignificant and found voter intimidation at polling places to be a problem. The EAC has a troubled record and is a source highly biased in favor of the current administration.
