Voter ID laws depress voting rates

While  federal law requires only of first-time voters to verify their identity, many states have imposed additional voter ID requirements (sometimes in response to concerns about noncitizen voter fraud).  New data suggests that such ID requirements have resulted in lower voting rates, particularly among minority voters.  “States that imposed identification requirements on voters reducedturnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new researchsuggests.”  Christopher Drew’s NYTimes story today gives an overview of the data and the debate over its significance.  That story is here. 

-jmc