Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T01:04:10.030Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Disproportionate Impact of Voter-ID Requirements on the Electorate—New Evidence from Indiana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2009

Matt A. Barreto
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Stephen A. Nuño
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
Gabriel R. Sanchez
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico

Extract

On January 8, 2008, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, a case related to the discriminatory effects of voter-identification laws in the state of Indiana. Indiana has one of the most stringent voting requirements in the nation, as voters are required to present an up-to-date photo identification issued by the federal or state government in order to cast a ballot. Plaintiffs argued that the Indiana requirements prevent significant and unequal obstacles to the right to vote. The state argued that Indiana had the right to enforce strict requirements to prevent fraud and uphold confidence in the electoral process. Similar laws have also been proposed in many other states, typically related to charges of vote fraud, and often times tied into the divisive debate regarding undocumented immigrants or African American felons. Therefore the recent decision of the Court has tremendous implications to the future of photo-identification laws across the United States.

Type
Symposium
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barreto, Matt, Nuño, Stephen, and Sanchez, Gabriel. 2007. “Voter ID Requirements and the Disenfranchisements of Latino, Black and Asian Voters.” Paper presented at the American Association of Political Science, Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.Google Scholar
Bauer, John R. 1990. “Patterns of Voter Turnout in the American States.” Social Science Quarterly 71: 824–34.Google Scholar
Blank, Robert H. 1974. “Socio-Economic Determinism of Voting Turnout: A Challenge.” Journal of Politics 36: 731–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E.. 1960. The American Voter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper & Bros.Google Scholar
Jackson, Robert A. 1993.“ Voter Mobilization in the 1986 Midterm Election.” Journal of Politics 55: 1081–99.Google Scholar
Katosh, John P., and Traugott, Michael W.. 1982. “Costs and Values in the Calculus of Voting.” American Journal of Political Science 26: 361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeter, Scott, Miller, Carolyn, Kohut, Andrew, Groves, Robert M., and Presser, Stanley. 2000. “Consequences of Reducing Nonresponse in a National Telephone Survey.” Public Opinion Quarterly 64 (2): 125–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Jae-On, Petrocik, John R., and Enokson, Stephen N.. 1975. “Voter Turnout among the American States: Systemic and Individual Components.” American Political Science Review 69: 107–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minnite, Lorraine. 2007. “The Politics of Voter Fraud.” A Project Vote Report, March 5. http://projectvote.org/fileadmin/ProjectVote/Publications/Politics_of_Voter_Fraud_Final.pdf.Google Scholar
Piven, Frances Fox, and Cloward, Richard A.. 1989. Why Americans Don't Vote. New York: Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
Piven, Frances Fox, and Cloward, Richard A.. 2000. Why Americans Still Don't Vote: And Why Politicians Want it that Way. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Riker, William H., and Ordeshook, Peter C.. 1968. “A Theory of the Calculus of Voting.” American Political Science Review 62: 2542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, Elizabeth. 1980. “On the Costs, Utilities, and Simple Joys of Voting.” Journal of Politics 42 (3): 854–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaw, Daron, de la Garza, Rodolfo, and Lee, Jongho. 2000. “Examining Latino Turnout in 1996: A Three-State Validated Survey Approach.” American Journal of Political Science 44: 338–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigelman, Lee. 1982. “The Nonvoting Voter in Voting Research.” American Journal of Political Science 26: 4756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay, and Brady, Henry. 1995. Voice and Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E., and Rosenstone, Steven J.. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar