Requiring Voter ID at the Polls is a Snake-Oil Remedy
Commentary
Printed in Virginia's Daily Press, Jan. 9th, 2008
Snake oil is back, and gumming up our elections. Like the old-timey liniments of dubious provenance, the new policies sound promising but don't solve the problems advertised, and sometimes cause real harm. Today, the Supreme Court will review the latest: an Indiana law rejecting voters who cannot show specific types of photo identification at the polls. At first, most people find the law a sensible step or, at worst, mildly inconvenient foolishness. On more careful consideration, though, it looks more and more like patent medicine: too much risk for no real reward.
Restrictive ID laws are not sugar pills, ineffective but harmless. Though most of us have a current government- issued photo ID, many eligible American citizens do not. Estimates run about 10 percent nationwide -- about 21 million voting-age citizens do not have a driver's license. A recent survey found 13 percent of registered Indianans without the right documentation. The percentages get worse among the youngest and oldest voters, lower-income voters and racial minorities.