[EL] backlash on voter ID

[Doug Hess]

I suspected there would be a backlash to the voter ID laws and it seems
there is a bit of one. The post-election publicity on the issue, that I've
seen, has not been enormous--perhaps because the defeat was decisive, thus
making the issue of IDs less significant in post-election analysis--but it
seems the delays caused by voter ID confusion is partially to blame in some
places for long lines. More importantly, the ballot initiative in MN
failed.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the supporters of IDs are able to
assemble any evidence that IDs improved the system, compared to the obvious
costs, in the broad sense. Or perhaps they will demonstrate that the costs
was slight (which may be hard as it will be difficult to know how much the
parties, campaigns, and nonprofits spent on helping people overcome any ID
related problems). Ultimately, if efforts to push ID laws continue, it
seems safe to bet that it will be easier to push for less onerous versions
or interpretations. Likewise, it will be interesting to see if current laws
are also amended or implemented more liberally.

Are there any ongoing studies of ID laws that used last week's election for
data collection?

Douglas R. Hess, PhD
Washington, DC
ph. 202-277-6400
douglasrhess at gmail.com

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