Subject: Re: [EL] photo IDs and detection of voter fraud
From: Larry Levine
Date: 12/3/2010, 12:30 PM
To: "David A. Schultz" <dschultz@gw.hamline.edu>, "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

This will only work if a person shows up with a photo that is not of him or herself. This would be evidence of stupidity more than fraud.
One "protection" would be to have photos of the voter on the registration sheets so poll workers can compare the face with that of the person who shows up. Of course, they would have to be updated as the voter grows older. Elections officials should love the costs associated with this and it would give us one more thing to argue about at the polling places. While we're at it, how about photos of voters marking their absentee ballots and sent along with the ballot so the elections office can verify that too.
Larry
 
 Larry
----- Original Message -----
From: David A. Schultz
To: election-law@mailman.lls.edu
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 11:46 AM
Subject: [EL] photo IDs and detection of voter fraud

One of the arguments among advocates of photo voter IDs is that currently we do not know the full scope of potential voter fraud without them. This is because the fraud is undetected. There is thus an empirical argument here. Specifically, the implementation of photo ID for voting should reveal or detect fraud that was otherwise previously hidden.

Are there any studies or analysis on the use of photo voter IDs that address this issue? Have any states that have instituted photo IDs produced numbers or stats on changes in reported or detected fraud? I would be interested to see or know about these studies for a paper I am constructing.

Thank you.


David Schultz, Professor
Editor, Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE)
Hamline University
School of Business
570 Asbury Street
Suite 308
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
651.523.2858 (voice)
651.523.3098 (fax)
http://davidschultz.v2efoliomn.mnscu.edu/
http://works.bepress.com/david_schultz/
http://schultzstake.blogspot.com/

_______________________________________________
election-law mailing list
election-law@mailman.lls.edu
http://mailman.lls.edu/mailman/listinfo/election-law