Daily Meme: Voter ID, a Bad Solution in Search of a Nonexistent Problem

by

  • We may be in an election off-year, but new voter-ID laws are still mucking up many a eligible citizen's right to hit the polling booths.
  • Texas's new voter-ID law, which went into effect on Tuesday (a day after early voting began in the state), has inspired quite a bit of acrimony.
  • The law might disenfranchise a third of the state's women voters, who might not have identification that matches their current legal name...
  • ... including this judge, who has voted without a hitch for five decades.
  • Republican women might just be the most affected by these voter ID laws.
  • Transgender men and women may also have difficulties voting because of discrepancies in names on their IDs.
  • Hispanics in the state are 46 to 120 percent less likely to have a government-issued ID than white residents.
  • All this grief for a problem we have yet to find. As Paul Burka puts it, "I am compelled to point out that voter fraud is a solution in search of a problem. Except for rare incidents, such as those involving ACORN a few years back, voter fraud is next to nonexistent ... You have to be really stupid to show up at the polls with a fake I.D. Impersonating another voter is not a successful strategy for fixing elections."
  • And yet, the Republican attorney general candidate still finds it prudent to campaign on creating a Voter Fraud Task Force if he gets elected by the few people who actually make it to the polls.
  • Meanwhile, Judge Richard Posner, who upheld the voter ID law in Indiana that set off this trend, realizes he made a huge mistake. The New York Times paraphrases: "In a new book, he writes that he was 'guilty' of upholding a law 'now widely regarded as a means of voter suppression rather than of fraud prevention.' Had he spoken those words a few years ago, the landscape of voter-ID laws might look very different."
  • Professor Richard Hasen hopes this is a sign of a new trend, where judges begin questioning the epidemic of laws that threaten to disenfranchise citizens across the country.
  • Change likely won't happen soon, however, not at the rate these laws are being enacted.
  • In Alabama, a voter-ID law passed in 2011 is getting ready for the midterms now that it won't have to face preclearance thanks to June's Supreme Court decision.
  • The Tennessee Supreme Court just upheld a voter-ID law in that state (although some representatives are still set on stopping it).
  • Pat McCrory, who signed perhaps the most restrictive voter-ID law in the country this summer, didn't really pay attention when the legislature was debating the issue apparently.

Unlike many news organizations, the Prospect has remained staunchly committed to keeping our journalism free and accessible to all. We believe that independent journalism is crucial for a functioning democracy—but quality reporting comes at a cost. From Trump’s threat to the free press to Musk’s influence on our democracy, there is too much at stake in 2025 to stop now.

We’re behind on our goal to raise $75,000 to continue delivering the hard-hitting investigative journalism you’ve come to expect from us. Your support helps us maintain our independence and dig deeper into the stories that matter most.

We need you to make a year-end contribution today. Any amount helps secure our future and ensure we can continue holding power to account.

Will you support independent journalism with a donation to the Prospect?