[EL] Question on voters who by-pass voter ID requirements

[Larry Levine]

I'll throw the hand grenade into the discussion by extending Doug's question
to ask: might a conservative, possible Republican or Tea Party polling place
worker be more inclined to "look the other way" on some voters and less so
on other voters? I can hear the Republicans on this list screaming that the
exact opposite is a bigger worry. 
Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Doug
Hess
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 1:45 PM
To: Election Law
Subject: [EL] Question on voters who by-pass voter ID requirements

In talking to some college students the other day, it occurred to me that in
addition to people who may face higher costs to voting under Voter ID laws
or who find it very hard to get the proper ID, there is also the possibility
that some classes of people will be allowed to vote even if they do not have
the right ID. I know some thought has been given to people who are
improperly asked for ID in states where it is not required, etc., but what
about the reverse?  Might voters in smaller towns, or voters benefiting from
positive regard by the election workers be allowed to vote when they
shouldn't? After all, "look the other way" events form bias if, when
aggregated, it occurs more often for members of some groups than others.

It would seem this should be as important a line of research and
argumentation as the concern of people having a hard time voting, at least
for concerns about discrimination against a class of voters. In other words,
even if the law is not applied in a discriminatory fashion AGAINST certain
voters, is it applied in a discriminatory fashion in FAVOR of some voters? I
guess supporters of ID laws may say that is just an implementation problem,
but given that the law doesn't address a real policy concern, it does seem
one more category of cost against the zero benefits of these laws.

Has much been done on this? I recall that there was some work done 3-4 years
ago on race and identity checking in the southwest. I forget if it looked at
failures to implement the law that favored people, or just looked at
failures that harmed individuals through improper identity checking or
rejection.

I guess people who know they should not have been allowed to vote are not
likely to come forward, but certainly some election officials or volunteers
might be willing to say (perhaps sheepishly) that they have done it by
mistake or seen it happen (or are concerned that it is happening).

Doug Hess
202-277-6400 (cell)

The information contained in this email is confidential and may contain
proprietary information. It is meant solely for the intended recipient(s).
Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action
taken or omitted in reliance on this is prohibited and may be unlawful.
_______________________________________________
Law-election mailing list
Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election