(MintPress) – As states continue to debate the merit behind the increased push for tighter voter identification laws ahead of the 2012 presidential election, a staggering number of Philadelphia residents are at risk of being ineligible to vote in November. Philadelphia City Paper reports that 1,636,168 Pennsylvania voters are at risk of not having the proper identification now required by the state to participate in the vote, with 43 percent of the city of Philadelphia possibly being ineligible.
Pennsylvania law now requires citizens to show identifications distributed by the state’s Department of Transportation, which could include driver’s licenses or permits, and state ID cards. Even voters who have previously registered to vote, should they not have the proper identification, would be disqualified from voting.
Recent polls show that only 35 percent of Pennsylvania voters are aware of the new voter ID law implemented by the state, and 98 percent currently feel that they are currently eligible to vote. Many of those who think they’re eligible have expired driver’s licenses or a student identification card.
Across the country, 30 states require an identification to vote to a varying degree; some require photo ID while some require a non-photo ID. Pennsylvania is said to have one of the strictest voter requirements in the country, prompting an investigation from the U.S. Justice Department as to whether the law disproportionately affects poor or minority voters and whether it violates the Voting Rights Act. Civil rights groups have suggested that minority voters are less likely to have a valid ID because of financial restrictions or access to a state government office.
Politicians who support the measure have argued that the state ID cards are free for those who want one. But the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law said the roundabout costs of voter ID laws stems from other documents needed to obtain an identification card, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate.
“It is wrong to enact laws to make it harder for some Americans to vote — not only wrong, but utterly at odds with our most basic national values,” the Brennan Center wrote in a report. “Every eligible citizen should be able to vote. And every citizen should take the responsibility to do so. One person, one vote: no more, no less.”
Degree of impact
The Brennan Center estimates that as many as 10 percent of the voters in states with voter ID legislation do not have the documents required to cast their ballot in November. While election day will provide the true litmus test on the national impact of voter ID legislation, estimates show the impact of states that could be hit hardest at the polls.
Kansas could see an estimated 2.4 percent decline in voter turnout, tied for the highest rate with Pennsylvania. Both Idaho and Tennessee could expect a 1.6 percent decline in participation while Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Utah could have some of the highest measurable effects as well.
Because of the demographics hit hardest by voter ID laws, those estimates also show a significant swing in favor of Republican candidates. Both Pennsylvania and Kansas could see a 1.2 percent net swing toward Republican candidates. This is due to President Barack Obama’s strong support among minority voters, as he, for instance, currently has 87 percent support of black voters. The Brennan Center noted that minority voters living in urban areas and in areas of high poverty are disproportionately affected because they have less access to public transportation, cannot afford the documentation to obtain a voter ID card or struggle to access state services.
“In the 10 states with restrictive laws, 1.2 million eligible voters whose incomes fall below the federal poverty line live more than 10 miles from their nearest state ID-issuing office,” the center claimed. “Voter ID laws also place a particular burden on black and Hispanic eligible voters, who are less likely to have ID than the general population. In these 10 states, 1.2 million black and 500,000 Hispanic eligible voters live more than 10 miles from their nearest state ID-issuing office.”
Claims of voter purge
Voter ID legislation has almost exclusively been backed by conservative Republicans who argue that the laws are needed to reduce the effects of voter fraud. Initial campaigns to introduce voter ID legislation were backed by David and Charles Koch, billionaire brothers who funded the tea party during its rise in American politics and who have also been major contributors to Mitt Romney’s run at the White House.
Instances of voter fraud – noncitizen voters, votes casted by deceased people or impersonation – have largely come up unfounded. During Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s attempted voting purge of illegal immigrants, the U.S. Justice Department said the actions were politically motivated and unfairly targeted minority voters, echoing similar sentiments from the Brennan Center.
A report at the end of June showed Scott’s claim of widespread vote fraud was actually far from widespread. An analysis from ElectionSmith, Inc. found that of the voters targeted by Scott’s purge list, 98.4 percent of the voters on the list turned out to be eligible. Fifty-eight percent of the voters were also Hispanic, despite the demographic only representing 13 percent of the state’s total population.
After a voter ID bill pushed by Republicans passed in North Carolina, the state’s Lieutenant Gov. Walter Dalton questioned its need after saying the state has never had a chronic problem with voter fraud.
“There is no significant problem with voter fraud in North Carolina,” Dalton told News Observer. “It is intended to intimidate. … This was put forward by the party that says they are for less government and less spending. This is more government and more spending.”
Challenges of voter ID legislation have been made as it relates to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices. The act was renewed in 2006 by then-president George W. Bush, during some of the initial pushes for voter ID laws in states.
In Ohio, which requires a non-photo ID, worries of fraud helped guide the bill to its passing. But figures from the Brennan Center show that from 2002-2004, elections in Ohio only produced four instances of ineligible persons voting or attempting to vote – a rate of 0.00004 percent.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged numerous voter ID bills in states, saying that under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, states must first seek approval from the Department of Justice or the federal district court of Washington before altering voting laws.
Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center, said a modern, digitized vote tracking system could both curb potential fraud while possibly adding millions of eligible voters back to the populous without requiring voter ID cards.
“Once partisan ‘voting wars’ have subsided, we can easily move to modernize our ramshackle voter registration system. Using digital technology, states can assure that every eligible voter is on the rolls. That would add millions to the rolls, cost less and curb the potential for fraud.”