Posted on 02/19/2016 3:10:25 PM PST by Elderberry
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have created a new statistical model. It shows that when laws require voters to show an ID, it affects voter turnout among different groups. Fewer minorities and people on the political left turn out to vote.
The researchers found strict ID laws cause a lower Democratic turnout by 8.8 percentage points. They only caused 3.6 percent drop in Republican voters.
The study focused on the 11 states with the strictest voter ID laws. Generally, they require a photo ID to cast a ballot. Researchers used a large voter survey database to compare turnout in those states to those in states that do not require voters to prove who they are.
17 States Use An Honor System
Several states have passed less strict ID laws. But in 17 states, including California, New York and Illinois, a more traditional honor system still applies at the ballot box. People in these states are trusted to be honest about who they are instead of being required to prove it with an ID.
People in support of voter ID laws want to protect the ballot box from people who are not honest about who they are. Those against it say that it's rare that people lie about who they are. The laws only hurt minorities and Democrats.
The report by professor Zoltan Hajnal, a UCSD political researcher, indicates the laws have an effect on turnout.
The report says voter ID laws hurt "the turnout of Hispanics, Blacks, Asian-Americans and multi-racial Americans. We also find that voter ID laws skew democracy toward those on the political right."
A Bigger Reduction In Minority, Liberal Participation
Researchers found minority voter participation dropped an average of 4.7 percentage points in states with strict voter ID laws. This includes self-identified Hispanics, blacks, Asian-Americans and mixed-race individuals in general elections.
According to the research, the effect on turnout based on ideology is also pronounced. Self-identified strong Democrats tend to turn out by 7.9 percentage points less when confronted with strict ID laws. Strong Republicans vote at a higher rate, by 4.8 percentage points.
The report used voter information from the Cooperative Congressional Election Studies database. It contained survey results for 50,000 respondents regarding elections from 2006 to 2014. Previous Studies Showed Little Effect On Turnout
The authors say their paper contains more recent election information from states with stricter laws than previous research. The other research found little effect on voter turnout.
Richard Hasen is a professor of law and political science at the UC Irvine School of Law. He cautioned against drawing conclusions from the paper, which is an outlier.
"Social science is not this kind of thing where you have one study and it's a smoking gun and that's it," Hasen said. "It's a situation where you have a ton of studies, and they all point in a particular direction."
Hasen said many factors and changing rules affect voter turnout. Many Americans Support Voter ID Laws
Surveys show wide support for voter ID laws. A 2012 Pew Research Center poll found that 77 percent of registered voters support a photo ID law.
California doesn't have a voter ID law. Talk show host Elise Richmond of Palm Springs tried unsuccessfully to gather signatures to get one on the ballot in 2014. She said if IDs were needed to vote, people would get one eventually.
Richmond, and other voter ID supporters, mentioned Mexico as a model the U.S. should follow; that nation requires a photo ID to vote.
Tony Krvaric is the San Diego County Republican Party chairman. Krvaric voted for the first time when in his native Sweden. He had to have an ID and proof of address. When he immigrated to California, he said, he was surprised when he was only asked for his name.
"You need an ID to fly, you need an ID to drive a car, you need an ID to borrow a library book, so I think it's a common-sense position," Krvaric said. ID Laws Are A Hurdle To Voters
For organizations looking to encourage more people to vote, voter ID laws present a hurdle. Jeanne Brown is the President of the San Diego League of Women Voters. She said voter ID laws lead to lower turnout overall. "There are very few cases of people trying to vote when they aren't qualified to vote," she said.
In the UCSD study, Hispanics show the largest drop in turnout under strict voter ID laws. Next are Asian-American and mixed-race individuals. White individuals showed only a small decrease.
The researchers presented the evidence with a caveat: The drop in voters could be caused by other factors. It is possible strict ID states also have tougher deadlines for voter sign-ups and fewer vote-by-mail options. The paper also says strict voter ID laws may tend to pass in states that have other factors intimidating minority voters.
The paper says the effects of voter ID laws are similar to the effects of poll taxes, literacy tests and residency laws. These "were used by the white majority" in the past "to help deny blacks many basic rights." The paper continues to explain that those laws were also created to help protect democracy, which is the same reason given for voter ID laws.
Is that because its harder to vote multiple times?
Therefore strict picture ID requirements at airport security have a greater effect on minorities.
RIGHT????
The Democrats have effectively eliminated voter fraud by making it impossible to prove that it happened.
Illegal aliens and dead people are two of the Democrats’ most reliable voting blocks.
So if there are so many problems with IDs then why are they forcing National ID and Pa sports on Citizens and not on Illegals?
Summary: More voter fraud in 17 states who don’t require photo ID.
She said voter ID laws lead to lower turnout overall. “There are very few cases of people trying to vote when they aren’t qualified to vote,”
I’m sure she knows this for a fact. /s
You forgot See a Doctor.
I took a wrong turn into a Disney parking lot in Orlando. I had to show ID just to turn around. I told the guard I was disenfranchised.
Whenever I show ID, I ask why I need to do it for something stupid like _____ and not for important stuff like voting.
A vote is important and if you can’t prove who is voting then IMO they can’t vote.
Funny, that. Thanks for the laugh!
But they still need ID to get their food stamps/welfare money.
This is such crap. You can’t cash a check, open a bank account, get a library card, fly on a plane and many, many, many other things without a photo ID. And voting is one of the most important things we do. Crap... pure crap.
Why? Because the lie, cheat and vote more than once?
Pity /s
Democrats didn’t have a problem with Indianas voter ID in 2008 when Obama won the state.
Only when they lost in 2012 that they started to b*tch about it again.
The researchers found strict ID laws cause a lower Democratic turnout by 8.8 percentage points. They only caused 3.6 percent drop in Republican voters.
Perhaps it is due to the fact that 8.8% of the democrat voters are illegal aliens and only 3.6% of the republican voters are illegal aliens.
I always vote early here in Texas. I give them my driver license and they let me vote. Why in the hell would anyone that is a legal citizen be discouraged from voting by the requirement to submit valid id. If you do not drive the Great State of Texas will issue you a valid ID upon proof of citizenship and the cost is zero.
But they never seem to mention that when it comes to Voter ID
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