| Subject: Re: [EL] photo IDs and detection of voter fraud |
| From: "Scarberry, Mark" <Mark.Scarberry@pepperdine.edu> |
| Date: 12/3/2010, 12:25 PM |
| To: "David A. Schultz" <dschultz@gw.hamline.edu>, "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu> |
The tricky point here is that voter photo ID requirements might be supported because of uncertainty about the amount of voter fraud, but, to the extent implementation of voter photo ID requirements deter *attempts* to commit voter fraud (or are unsuccessful in detecting voter fraud), little useful data will be generated. I don’t suppose any variation in turnout could be determined to be caused by deterrence of voter fraud, because lots of other factors are at work.
Mark Scarberry
Pepperdine Univ. School of Law
From: election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu [mailto:election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu] On Behalf Of David A. Schultz
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 11:46 AM
To: election-law@mailman.lls.edu
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)
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http://davidschultz.v2efoliomn.mnscu.edu/
http://works.bepress.com/david_schultz/
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