Among the most controversial of the recently employed tactics designed to suppress minority voting are voter identification laws. In the last few years, 10 states have passed restrictive photo ID laws and many states have similar pending legislation. They require voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls, which departs from the long-standing practice of using voters’ signatures or household ID like a utility bill.
Proponents of the laws contend that they prevent voter fraud. That simply is not so. In fact, the very problem these laws purport to address in-person voter fraud is virtually nonexistent. The Brennan Center for Justice reports that the likelihood of an incident of voter impersonation fraud is from 0.0009 percent to 0.00004 percent, depending on the state. National Weather Service data shows a similar chance of an American being killed by lightning.
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