image credit: texastribune.org
In favor of Voter ID laws:
No difference across race, gender, or party, analysis finds
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Charles Fain Lehman at Washington Free Beacon (h/t Instapundit) reports:
Strict voter ID laws do not
suppress turnout, a new paper finds, regardless of sex, race, Hispanic
identity, or party affiliation.
Requiring photo ID to vote is a
hotly contested subject in American political discourse. Proponents argue that
it is necessary to insure against fraud and preserve the integrity of the
American electoral system. Opponents argue that it will disenfranchise otherwise
eligible voters—many of whom would be poor and of color—who are unable to
easily obtain ID.
In total, 10 states, ranging from Georgia to Wisconsin [and including
Ohio], require voters to show ID in order to vote. Seven of those states
require a photo ID, and three do not. An additional 25 states
"request" that voters display ID, but may still permit them to vote
on a provision ballot if they cannot. The remaining states "use other
methods to verify the identity of voters," according to the National
Conference of State Legislatures.
The new research, from an economics
professor at the University of Bologna and another at Harvard Business School,
indicates that "strict" voting laws of the type implemented in those
ten states do not have a statistically significant effect on voter turnout.
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