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Voter ID laws

State and Local Government

Dr. Budzisz

Jeremy Peters

5/15/15

Elections are the pinnacle of democracy on America. And the results of

elections have a significant impact on the lives of all citizens. Thats why there are
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such serious implications to any legislation that may impact the turnout or results of

elections. Voter ID laws have been passed in over half of the states but rising

tensions over immigration especially in states that are located near the border with

Mexico have led to judicial challenges over the legality of voter ID legislation. The

advocates for the requirement of presenting identification on Election Day claim

that voter ID laws reduce voter fraud, and encourage those who dont trust the

democratic process because they believe it is flawed, to vote. Opponents to voter ID

laws claim that the restrictions placed on voting unfairly targets minorities who

cannot afford, or just do not have forms identification. The states that I will focus on

are Arizona and Iowa. Arizona passed a law in 2004 that required voters to present

a form of ID for registration and proof of their citizenship at the voting booth. The

law was so controversial that the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court.

Iowa, in comparison, has relaxed voting laws when versus to Arizona so it provides a

good comparison about the differences between how states execute elections and

the procedure to vote. Its easy to see the amount of power that states are given by

the differences in the structuring of their elections. States assume the power to set

districts, polling locations, ballot styles, and poll hours and many other important

tasks to the success of an election.

According to the Iowa American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Iowa currently

does not have any law requiring identification to vote on election day, in most cases

if youre registered you dont need ID to vote. The main argument for not imposing

voter ID laws would be protecting peoples ability to vote. Many Iowans especially

the elderly, those who cannot afford a car, and those who otherwise dont need ID

in their everyday life wont have an ID and this will discourage them from voting.

Many see voter ID laws as restrictions of freedom because they are preventing
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certain demographics from voting. However poll workers in Iowa will ask for

identification when a citizen is registering to vote on Election Day as mandated by a

federal act. If this is the case the voter is registering on election day they would

need to present a form of identification (government issued ID, or student ID, etc.)

and also present some proof of their Iowa residence including a bill, tax statement,

or a piece of mail with their address on it( Voter Registration.) So although Iowa

and every other state does require identification to register to vote, most do not

make citizens provide proof of citizenship in order to vote. Arizona and a few other

states are the exception.

The Arizona election laws are a bit more detailed, if you do not live in a

county using vote centers for the current election, you must vote at your designated

polling location. If you vote at a polling location different from the one assigned, you

will be issued a provisional ballot. In order to vote on Election Day, this is the

current procedure, #1 voters must present a sufficient Photo ID including name and

address. #2 if unable to do this voters must present two sufficient forms of ID

without a photograph that bear the name and address. Or voters may mix & Match

from #1 & #2, two forms are required. The only exception to these rules and the

above procedure is if you received an early ballot in the mail and need to drop it off

on the day of the election. An early ballot may be dropped off at any polling location

located within the same county you are registered to vote in (Voting in this

Election.) This is the current procedure in Arizona, but prior to a Supreme Court

ruling in 2013, Arizona had a law that required proof of citizenship in order to be

able to vote (Az. Const. art. IV 16-152.) The Federal Government already has a

registration process for voters in federal elections that required a simple form of
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identification. (Register to Vote.) However Arizona added in addition to the federal

requirements the mandate that proof of citizenship be provided.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Arizona's requirement to document U.S.

citizenship in order register was unconstitutional and Arizona did not have the right

to add requirements to the federal "motor voter" registration law. An NPR article

detailed the story of the Plaintiff challenging the Arizona law. A janitor named Jesus

who worked at an Arizona school who tried twice to vote in the day he became a

naturalized citizen. He was denied the first time because the naturalization numbers

he provided as his identification were not available to the state of Arizona from the

Department of Homeland Security which is a federal agency. And the second time

because the drivers license that he presented had been issued to him when he was

a legal resident but not yet a citizen. The case was originally heard by The 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals said that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which

doesn't require such documentation, trumps Arizona's Proposition 200 passed in

2004. This is an example of the use of the Supremacy Clause which state that

federal law takes precedence over state law. The Supreme Court ultimately came to

the same conclusion. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the court majority saying that the

1993 National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to "accept and use" the

simple federal form, replaced more complicated state forms like Arizona's. And the

court said that if the state wanted to add requirements, it must to get permission

from the Federal Election Assistance Commission (Court Strikes Down Arizona

Law).

Interestingly enough the voter ID legislation began as a ballot initiative in

Arizona. The initiative appeared on the November 2004 ballot and was passed with

56% of voters in favor. Proposition 200 was named the Arizona Citizen Protection
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Act, and received immediate dissent from minority groups as soon as it was passed.

Proposition 200 would never even have a chance to reach the ballot in Iowa. The

only way that voters see a ballot measure are if the Iowa State Legislature proposes

a constitutional amendment and vote to put it before the citizens, this is just one

more instance where states differ in their election.

Looking to the future of voter ID requirements, the battle remains ongoing.

The problem that will continually need to be addressed is does the requirement of

certain forms of identification restrict the voting of certain minorities. For those who

are unable to afford purchasing a drivers license or acceptable form of

identification, most states are working towards providing those free of charge to low

income or qualified individuals. This leaves the argument that the need for voter ID

stems from abuses of the democratic process. States are the laboratories of

democracy and each state has leeway in this area and gets to craft their own

election process. Political culture, location of the state, and racial makeup of states

are a big factor in shaping the election. As the United States become more diverse

and no one ethnicity compromises a majority, election policy by the states will have

to be changed to meet the new America.

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Works Cited

Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Voting Law." NPR. NPR, 17

June 2013. Web. 5

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/192790981/supreme-court-strikes-down-arizona-

voting-rule

Childress, Sarah. "Why Voter ID Laws Aren't Really About Fraud." PBS. PBS, 20 Oct.

2014. Web. 5 May

2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-

politics/why-voter-id-laws-arent-really-about-fraud/

Register to Vote. Eac.Gov. US Election Assistance Commission, 22, Dec. 2014.

Web. 4 May 2015.

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http://www.eac.gov/voter_resources/register_to_vote.aspx

Voting in this Election. Azsos.Gov. Arizona Secretary of State, State of Arizona,

2014. Web. 2015.

https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.htm

Voter Registration. Sos.Iowa.Gov. Iowa Secretary of State, State of Iowa, 2014.

Web.

https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.html

Arizona Constitution. Article IV 16-152

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/52leg/1r/bills/sb1347p.htm