Voter ID feels like code for voter suppression grounded in class, race

"The past is never dead. It's not even past" (William Faulkner, The Nun). As much as we say “the past is in the past,” it seems as though the past is truly a perpetuating cycle.

Voting is a right that all citizens in the representative democracy of the United States are entitled to have. The Constitution states that the voting rights of U.S. citizens cannot be abridged due to race, color, previous condition of servitude, sex, or age. However, voter ID and election laws, which are supposed to regulate and make elections fair, are doing the opposite. 

The implementation of stricter election laws is entirely unnecessary and will, in fact, cause more disparities between races and social classes. For that, voter ID and election laws should not be preferential to certain individuals and should not infringe upon our fundamental rights. 

During the Jim Crow Era, when segregation was legal, the United States utilized voting poll taxes, which were used to disenfranchise minority and low-income voters. These poll taxes seem to be a reflection of modern-day voter ID laws, disproportionately affecting minority groups and preventing them from easy access to voting. 

Stricter voter ID laws help to eliminate voter fraud and protect voting rights. However, the implementation of these regulations and restrictions in our government are significantly reducing voter turnout and political participation -- especially for minorities and low-income groups. South Carolina was the first state to begin requesting identification from voters in 1950; since then, the Republican Party has had increasing efforts to create stricter voter ID laws, with a primary objective to prevent voter fraud. However, with the increase in stringent voter ID laws, it seems as though it is becoming harder and harder for poor, disabled, and minority citizens to vote. 

According to a Harvard study, “the expenses for documentation, travel, and waiting time [for obtaining voter identification cards] are significant- especially for minority groups and low-income voters.” Even though most IDs are free, costs to obtain them range from about $75-$175, which may not seem expensive, but, considering that voting is a natural right that American citizens have, it seems unreasonable to have to pay and travel to such measures just to be eligible to vote. 

In recent political years, many voters and government officials have called for the tightening of our elections through stricter voter ID laws.  These stricter laws have been presented to the public as an avenue to eliminate voter fraud--but voter fraud is virtually nonexistent. A 2016 working paper concluded that the upper limit on double voting in the 2012 election was 0.02%. Additionally, a recent study found that since 2000 there were only 31 credible allegations of voter impersonation, never enough to sway any election.  Attempting to fix a problem that barely exists will prove costly and ineffective.

To many promoters of voting restrictions, the idea seems simple. Nevertheless, continuing to enforce these notions will be a very difficult task. There needs to be a significant amount of administrative structure to produce, distribute and renew said IDs periodically. According to a report released in 2011, Indiana estimated spending $13 to produce each free ID card, for a total of between two million and three million per year, for an overall total of $10,023,221 between 2007 and 2010. This price, in terms of all 50 states, will end up being exceptionally costly for the federal government.  More stringent voting laws seem to be a considerable investment for something that will most likely have a negative impact.

To prevent our election system from slipping from the hands of the people, we must thoroughly regulate voter ID and election laws to hinder the further inequity that they can generate. In order to do so, before tightening elections or imposing harsher voter ID regulations, it is important to evaluate who will be affected and what benefit will be created. Instead of passing new laws that will sieve certain groups of people from voting, we need to instead create laws that will ensure fairness and representation in voting and elections. 

Voting is a fundamental right and privilege that all citizens in the United States are entitled to. It is the citizens’ duty and responsibility to participate and actively voice their opinions in the government through voting to guarantee that our representative system of government is upheld.  It is crucial that we the people protect the natural rights that were given to us by our very own Constitution. 

If stricter regulations are implemented and the country begins to see a decline in voters, how will these votes -- which are supposed to shape our democracy -- reflect on our country and the fundamentals it supposedly stands for?

By Evan Giordano and Fareeha Ahmad

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue V

February 22, 2022