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The Historical Context of Voter Photo-ID Laws

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2009

Chandler Davidson
Chandler Davidson
Affiliation:
Rice University
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Extract

The issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Crawford case (Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd. 2008) was whether a law (Indiana Senate Enrolled Act No. 483) passed by the Indiana legislature requiring most voters to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiffs argued that it works an unfair hardship on many people who do not have the government-issued documents that count as a legitimate ID (Indiana Democratic Party et al., 12–16). They argued that the law, in effect, constitutes a poll tax, inasmuch as there are costs to obtain the right kind of photo ID, costs that unduly burden many eligible citizens wanting to exercise their right to vote.

Type
Symposium
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 42 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 93 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2009

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