Constitutional Law

Issue Brief: The Pitfalls of Voter Identification Laws in a Post-Crawford World

Today, ACS released an issue brief by Carrie Apfel of Jenner & Block entitled “The Pitfalls of Voter Identification Laws in a Post-Crawford World.” She writes that even in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s upholding of Indiana’s restrictive voter photo identification against a facial challenge, states should “resist the urge to pass restrictive photo identification regulations” for several reasons.

She first argues that the status of voter-ID laws remain in flux, with the High Court’s decision “practically invit[ing] voters to attack these laws as they are applied,” and noting that the decision “did not rule out the possibility of . . . facial challenges” as well. Apfel then argues that the laws will neither address real threats of fraud nor instill voter confidence. Finally, she explains that the laws will disproportionately affect elderly, disabled, poor and minority voters, with several less restrictive alternatives available to states.

Apfel concludes by asserting that “voter identification laws are still a solution in search of a problem—restrictions that will not ameliorate the real or perceived issues with our electoral system, but rather will further undermine voting rights and voter confidence.”

The ACS Issue Brief “The Pitfalls of Voter Identification Laws in a Post-Crawford World” is available here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on June 12, 2008 (boomark / email).