Back to Voter ID
A never-ending story.
A combination of Trump making claims about nationalizing elections and growing congressional attention on the proposed SAVE Act means we are again talking about voter ID rules.
Let me provide as succinct a version of my views on this subject as possible, as the place to start.
I am in favor of having a national voter ID system so long as it meets the following three conditions: it is universal, it is free, and it is easy to obtain. However, since the cost in time and treasure is such that such outcomes are unlikely, I am not in favor of voter ID laws because they create the conditions wherein the odds of disenfranchising citizens are far higher than the likelihood that they will stop voter fraud.
This is ultimately a very simple, very straightforward cost/benefit analysis.
The costs of ID voter laws well outstrip their benefits.
We have written extensively about this in the past here on the site, and I would specifically note these posts of mine:
Beyond the cost/benefit of such rules, my skepticism over an effective national ID, or even state-level IDs that conform to a national standard, was ramped up recently as I watched the slow-motion implementation of the Real ID system.
To wit, via Governing: REAL ID Is Finally Here. What Took States So Long?
The REAL ID enforcement date has been looming for 20 whole years, and now it’s finally here. Starting on May 7, the Transportation Security Administration says it will require airline passengers to show a REAL ID-compliant license or a U.S. passport to board a plane.
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, mandating a minimum set of security features for state-issued licenses and IDs that can be used to board planes and enter certain federal facilities. The law also requires states to hold licensees’ information in a database that can be checked by other states. Passed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when most of the attackers boarded planes with state-issued IDs, the law was meant to prevent people from getting licensed under a false identity or entering federal facilities using fake IDs.
Many will recall that the Real ID push was, like the creation of DHS and ICE, part of the legislative reaction to 911. As old timers may recall, there was an uproar over the fact that the 911 hijackers were able to acquire driver’s licenses and that those IDs helped them board US aircraft.
Setting aside whether this was just a fixing of the barn door after the cows have come home kind of thing, let’s pause and consider that it took two decades to implement what was a theoretically easy change to driver’s license requirements at the state level as a terrorism prevention measure.
Twenty.
Years.
If we can’t get a security-linked proposal such as this implemented a bit faster than twenty years, let’s just say I have profound doubts about any possible universal voter ID law.
Let me add a few thoughts on the SAVE Act. Here is a run-down by the Brennan Center: New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting.
In every form, the SAVE Act would require American citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Our research shows that more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don’t even have a passport. Millions lack access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. The SAVE Act would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately. Likewise, millions of women whose married names aren’t on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard.
Just like the SAVE Act of 2025, the new SAVE Act proposals would inject chaos into election administration. They would place a massive unfunded burden on state and local election officials. And they would expose those officials to significant legal risk. The bills would leave it up to local officials to decide whether a voter who lacks one of the specified documents has done enough to prove citizenship. Officials who make an honest mistake could face civil and criminal penalties. An election official could even be punished for registering an eligible American citizen, just for failing to collect all the right paperwork at the right time.
Again, such a proposal is in response to what is a negligible problem. Yes, every year, there are a handful of cases wherein votes are illegally cast. But there is no evidence of any widespread voter or electoral fraud in the United States. As such, extraordinary measures that cost a lot and put significant burdens on legitimate voters simply are not warranted.
Measures like the SAVE Act are more tools of voter suppression than they are tools of electoral integrity.
Anyone who truly believes that the problem with illegal voting requires a national ID system ought to then be willing to shell out the cash that would be needed to do a proper national ID. Just issuing unfunded mandates on states or shifting the burden to millions of citizens is simply an unacceptable assault on basic democratic rights.
Yeah, voter fraud is like Sasquatch. Nobody can prove it doesn’t exist. All they can say is “we haven’t found it yet.”
Which is why its evergreen. Another thread of anti-democracy on the right over the last 20-30 years.
This is all a worthwhile conversation to have, but we need to make sure we don’t forget that this debate isn’t happening within the normal, democratic legislative process (which won’t be enough to establish a national standard as long as there’s a filibuster), it’s happening by a president who is threatening to ignore the current law and impose his preferred policies by fiat on the country, something he has already done in other areas.
It’s ‘fricken amazing. Trump created and actively promoted the BIGGEST LIE in American history – that there is massive voter fraud in our federal elections.
‘Wisdom of The People’ and ‘American Exceptionalism’ notwithstanding, around 77 million voters brought Trump back for a 2nd run at destroying our institutions and for a 2nd attempt to steal the 2020 election.
Alas, you are bringing thoughtful analysis to a feces-throwing fight.
A failure to pass the SAVE act is the best possible outcome for the GOP, because then they can claim that they tried to “fix” alleged election fraud and the Dems stopped them. All the while, Trump and the Republicans want unfounded doubts about election integrity to persist. Lingering doubt about the validity of elections serves the same purpose for Trumpist Republicans as their successful dismissal of “fake” or biased polls. This allows Trump to make the claim that he has a mandate and is serving the will of the governed that has the vague outlines of democracy, while he continues to do whatever the hell he wants as a dictator would.
Like wear a mask that costs near nothing or take an unknown greater risk of contracting COVID. Or get pretty much anything we want from Denmark and Greenland as is or threaten war. Don’t you know “straightforward cost/benefit analysis” is an elitist deep state Alinsykite diversion?
@al Ameda:
He promoted the lie, and he brought it to an extreme never seen before, but he most certainly did not create it. It’s been decades in the making.
IMO, rather than oppose this verkakte law, the Democrats should demand common sense amendments. Like a national ID. No, really. provided there’s funding for a national ID system that will be, as Steven notes, free, easy to obtain, and universal. and to be deployed over several years, rather than rushed for the next election, or even for 2028.
Mexico has such an ID. It’s free and universal, but not quite easy to obtain. When it was introduced in the 90s, it was far easier to get. Now, not so much. The big issue is there is one, and only one, National Electoral Institute office in each municipality, and that can be quite a trip for some (mine is about 25 km from my place).
They are good for ten years. then you need to renew them. You’d also need a new one if you move, or if you lose your card. It also serves as universal ID for just about anything, including bank transactions and domestic air travel.
Oh, legal requirements are just a birth certificate and proof of address. Birth certificates are rather easy and cheap to get*, and you can get multiple certified copies. If you don’t have one, you can bring two people to vouch for you, provided each has a voter ID card.
*Among other things, there’s a civil registry office or desk in every hospital with a maternity ward. It’s hard for new parents to leave the hospital without their child’s birth certificate.