Access Versus Integrity in Voter Identification Requirements
Working Paper No.: 58
Date Published: 2007-01-31
Author(s):
Stephen Ansolabehere, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract:
The Help America Vote Act hit a nearly fatal snag during the final stages of
congressional negotiations over the bill in 2002. The problem? Voter identification
requirements. Many conservatives in Congress insisted on the inclusion of a
requirement that voters show photo identification, and many liberals, especially the
Congressional Black Caucus, saw this as a deal killer. Ultimately, the two sides reached
a compromise that applied the rule to first time voters, but the battlelines over this
question were drawn and they remain in place today.
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