Viewpoint: Photo ID laws, voter suppression and Hoosiers silenced
Across the country, sundry new laws (or soon-to-be laws like Indiana House Bill 1264) threaten to make voting more difficult. Indiana, though, has had strict voter identification laws since 2005. The prominence of photo identification laws like Indiana’s are unprecedented in American history. There were no presidential elections in which states required photo identification until 2008 — Indiana and Georgia were the first states to require photo IDs for citizens to vote. Since then, numerous states have implemented laws that suppress certain voters.
Currently, there remain identification requirements for casting a ballot in Indiana. You must present an ID which has (1) your photo, (2) a name that must “conform to your voter registration record,” (3) an expiration date “after the date of the last General election,” and (4) been “issued by the State of Indiana or the U.S. government.” There are some concessions to certain ID types, such as those from the Indiana National Guard or a Native American Tribe recognized by the United States government, which do not need to have an expiration date.
For many, a driver’s license, passport, or student ID from an Indiana state school will suffice, but some Hoosiers do not have these options. The Brennan Center for Justice found that “as many as 11 percent of eligible voters do not have the kind of ID that is required by states with strict ID requirements.” So, laws like Indiana’s effectively bar many Americans from expressing their views.
If you do not have a photo ID on Election Day, you may cast a provisional ballot, but then you must follow up with the county election office within 10 days and provide photo ID or affirm an exemption for the photo ID law applies to you. There are only a few valid exemptions for not presenting a photo ID. For example, you could be “indigent" or have “a religious objection to being photographed.” Even if you can ultimately cure your ballot, the process itself presents a considerable barrier.
Realistically, this hassle discourages some Hoosiers from voting entirely. Unfortunately, voter ID laws are most likely to disenfranchise Black voters. Since African Americans typically vote Democratic, it is unsurprising that, when the 2005 photo ID law was a bill, 85 Republicans voted for the bill with none opposing it, and 62 Democrats voted against the bill with none favoring it. No matter your party allegiance, though, you should not support the undemocratic practice of curtailing Americans’ right to vote.
Proponents of voter ID laws claim they protect election integrity, but evidence says otherwise. The Brennan Center for Justice found that incidents of voter impersonation fraud are so few that it is more likely an American “will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.” There has not even been a consistent correlation between these laws and voters’ confidence in elections.
This is notable regarding the 2008 Supreme Court case (Crawford v. Marion County Election) that found Indiana’s photo IDs laws to be constitutional, something which laid the groundwork for similar laws across the nation. Justice Stevens’s opinion suggested that, despite "no evidence of any (voter impersonation) fraud actually occurring in Indiana at any time in its history,” voter participation and public confidence in elections could be inspired by photo ID laws. But, since in-person voter impersonation is exceptionally rare and has not been shown to improve confidence in elections, there is no valid reason for the existence of harmful laws such as Indiana’s.
Stringent voter ID laws result in some Hoosiers being unable to vote. To support preserving democracy and ensuring everyone has a level chance of expressing their opinions, contact your state legislators and communicate opposition to strict voter identification laws. Indiana’s numerous Republican legislators typically favor photo ID laws, but, regardless of whether you vote red or blue, you could help begin to turn the tide in Indiana against these undemocratic practices by raising your voice in disapproval.
You can find the names of your state legislators on the Indiana General Assembly web site. From there, you can call or write to your state senator and state representative to request photo ID laws be struck down and that the ability for all Hoosiers to express their opinions — something that is inherent to a functioning democracy — be restored.
Vincent Micheli is a student at the University of Notre Dame. He is a part of the Write to Vote Project, a nationwide project, which helps students publish op-eds related to voting rights. He can be contacted by emailing vmicheli@nd.edu.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Photo ID laws, voter suppression and Hoosiers silenced
