The Federal Election Integrity Act requires any individual wishing to vote in a federal election to present government-issued photo identification (such as a driver’s license) to election officials for his or her ballot to be valid. In 2010 and after, an individual must present photo identification that proves United States citizenship, which most driver’s licenses do not. If an individual does not have photo identification at the voting booth, he or she may cast a provisional ballot, but must present photo identification to election officials within 48 hours. The requirement holds for individuals casting ballots in-person, by mail, and by any other means. For individuals without government-issued photo identification, each state must establish a program to provide identification that can be used to meet the law’s requirement.
The Middle-Class Position:
Middle Class Opposes. Public policy has the potential to make a profound difference in the lives of low-income citizens aspiring to the middle class. Lacking the resources of the wealthy and powerful, voting is one of the few ways the aspiring middle class can hold their government accountable. Yet the burdensome requirements of the Federal Election Integrity Act threaten to disenfranchise these very citizens. The Act’s photo identification requirement would not only impose significant costs on the millions of individuals who would need to obtain new documentation to acquire photo IDs, but would disproportionately affect the low income, people of color, the elderly, and the homeless who more frequently lack driver’s licenses and state identification cards. In fact, the Brennan Center for Justice calls the photo identification requirement a modern-day poll tax because of the costs and resulting disenfranchisement associated with obtaining the photo identification.
Furthermore, the type of voter fraud that the Federal Election Integrity Act purports to prevent is exceedingly rare. The very few instances of individuals misrepresenting themselves at the polls – one survey found that this occurred just four times out of over 9 million votes cast – do not come close to justifying the disenfranchisement of the numerous, and already vulnerable, individuals who do not have official photo identification.
From the Experts:
“H.R. 4844 would encourage racial and ethnic discrimination at polling places and prevent many eligible voters across the country from participating in our democracy, while doing nothing to combat genuine instances of voter fraud. H.R. 4844 would only serve to skew election results by removing countless eligible voters from the process.” – Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (September 13, 2006)
“This proposed federal legislation is overreaching and amounts to a solution in search of a problem. While election misconduct exists, including improper purges, dissemination of false information about elections and vote tampering, none of these issues are addressed in this legislation. Effective federal legislation should not erect new obstacles or weaken existing voting rights laws. We recognize that reform of our nation’s electoral systems is critical. But it cannot be done in a manner that unduly prevents legitimate voters from exercising their constitutional right to vote.” – American Civil Liberties Union (September 19, 2006)
Beyond this Bill:
Election laws should facilitate voting and empower all voters. Individual states have increased voter registration and turnout – particularly among vulnerable populations – by ending arbitrary registration deadlines and permitting registration on Election Day. The federal government could facilitate these efforts by creating federal standards for voter registration that include automatic registration, a process that automatically adds individuals to the voter rolls when they reach a certain age. The American voting system is outdated and inefficient, perhaps the strangest example being, as the group Why Tuesday? points out, the day we hold elections: Tuesday. The federal government should reform the voting system to make voter registration and turnout universal. Scheduling Election Day on a weekend would be a sensible first step.
Estimated percentage of those eligible to vote who do not have official state identification, according to the National Commission on Federal Election Reform: 10
Percentage of persons aged 65 and older in Wisconsin who do not have a driver’s license or photo ID: 23
Proportion of African Americans in Louisiana who lack government-sanctioned photo identification, as compared to the state’s white residents: 4 to 5
Percentage of black males aged 18 to 24 with a driver’s license in Wisconsin: 22
Number of states that do not currently require all voters to show photo identification when voting whose laws would be preempted by the Federal Election Integrity Act: 47
Number of instances of ineligible persons voting or attempting to vote in a survey of over 9 million votes cast in 2002 and 2004 in Ohio: 4
Search our analyses of legislation
significant to America’s current and
aspiring middle class, and find out
how members of Congress voted on
those bills.
