Election integrity is vital. To that end, the Brennan Center has long supported commonsense voter ID rules. Voters should be who they say they are, and it is not unreasonable to require them to prove it. Indeed, many states have voter ID rules that protect security without disenfranchising citizens.
The problem comes when laws require forms of ID that many eligible Americans don’t have. The states with the strictest voter ID rules require voters to present a narrow range of acceptable documents to cast a ballot. But many voters don’t have these documents available. For example, more than 49 million American adults don’t possess an unexpired driver’s license with their current name and address. Seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, low-income voters, and students are especially likely to lack such documents.
The Brennan Center has advanced pro-voter election integrity proposals. In 2016, we published Election Integrity: A Pro-Voter Agenda, authored by Myrna Perez, now a federal appeals court judge. “Some form of photo identification seems sensible to many Americans given how hard it is to maneuver through modern life without one,” she wrote. “There are ways to meet integrity concerns without disenfranchising eligible citizens.” She noted that states such as Rhode Island and Michigan had voter ID laws that increased security without disenfranchising voters. The report includes other proposals for voter ID that would enfranchise all eligible citizens.
As we wrote in Democracy Journal in 2013, “A plausible election-integrity agenda will give legislative allies firm ground on which to stand. They can insist that only eligible citizens can vote—but every eligible citizen must be able to vote.” The Freedom to Vote Act, debated in Congress in 2022 and supported by the Brennan Center, included national voter ID standards as well.
The Brennan Center conducts research on voter ID, documentary proof of citizenship, and in-person voter fraud. Our attorneys assist policymakers and advocates who work to improve the security of elections without compromising citizens’ right to vote.
