[EL] Voter ID in Rhode Island

[Justin Levitt]

The article does seem like a good behind-the-scenes look at the relevant 
politics, and the institutional progress of the bill/law.  I thank Sean 
for pointing it out, and I agree that it seems pretty well written.

But in getting the thorough political scoop, the article also glosses 
over an important detail: all voter ID bills are not the same.   Indeed, 
the article poses a question -- "how is it that one of the bluest states 
in the nation enacted a law so red?" -- that assumes that the law Rhode 
Island passed is the same thing as the laws passed in Kansas or 
Tennessee or Texas or Wisconsin.

It's not.

Crucially, Rhode Island not only phases its requirement in over several 
years, but it also allows eligible voters without one of the specified 
government-issued photo ID cards to _vote a ballot that will count_.  In 
Rhode Island -- as in Florida -- voters without photo ID vote a 
provisional ballot, and if there's no other reason to think the ballot 
is invalid (including a signature match to the registration form), the 
ballot counts.

Not so with most of the other new ID rules.  In those other states, 
voters without one of the specified photo IDs get the placebo of a 
near-useless provisional ballot -- because the provisional ballot 
doesn't count unless you show the same ID you weren't able to bring to 
the polls.

That's a meaningful difference in Rhode Island's new law.  And should be 
considered a significant part of the context in assessing why 
legislators voted as they did.

Justin



On 5/23/2012 11:41 AM, Sean Parnell wrote:
>
> I was up in Providence, Rhode Island earlier this week and happened to 
> pick up the local progressive weekly tabloid (which, FTR, I've always 
> found pretty well written and informative in just about every city 
> that has one of these outlets). The cover story was titled "Who Passed 
> Voter ID" and it attempts to explain how a heavily-Democratic state 
> legislature passed voter ID. I can't vouch for the accuracy or 
> completeness of the article,  but it does provide some interesting 
> insights for people on both sides of the issue, as well as those of us 
> somewhere in the middle.
>
> http://providence.thephoenix.com/news/138781-who-passed-voter-id/
>
> Oh, and sometimes the advertisements for these types of papers can be 
> NSFW, but the ads on this story seem fine right now -- no promises 
> that won't change, however!
>
> Sean Parnell
>
> President
>
> Impact Policy Management, LLC
>
> 6411 Caleb Court
>
> Alexandria, VA  22315
>
> 571-289-1374 (c)
>
> sean at impactpolicymanagement.com
>
>
>
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-- 
Justin Levitt
Associate Professor of Law
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA  90015
213-736-7417
justin.levitt at lls.edu
ssrn.com/author=698321

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