Is Everyone Else Doing It? Indiana’s Voter Identification Law in International Perspective
by FREDRIC CHARLES SCHAFFER and TOVA ANDREA WANG
Since the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, requiring people to present identification to vote has become one of the most controversial and divisive issues in election reform. HAVA necessitates, among other things, that members of a small group of people—new voters registering by mail—establish their identity in one of many ways. While about half of the states in the country today apply just that requirement, many states have used the HAVA identification provision to justify additional, more stringent measures. At present, twenty-four states require all voters to present identification when casting a ballot in person.
Most of these states accept a wide range of both photo and non-photo forms of identification. A handful of states allow only photo identification. Four of them—Louisiana, Hawaii, Michigan, and South Dakota—allow eligible voters to cast regular ballots on Election Day even if they fail to bring or do not have the photo identification required. Such voters simply sign affidavits and cast their votes. Only three states absolutely require photo identification: Florida, Georgia, and Indiana. Indiana’s law, passed in 2005, is the most restrictive. Unlike the Florida law, which allows voters to present several different types of photo identification, the Indiana and Georgia laws require that the photo identification be government-issued. But unlike Georgia, Indiana makes it difficult for voters to obtain that identification. For these reasons, opponents believe that the Indiana law will inflict the most widespread disenfranchisement.
