Replies

The most obvious result would be to slow the process of registering to vote. Form 4473 is more complex than a voter registration form and includes questions about criminal records, mental health and service in the armed forces. Those things are checked against databases

Somebody other than the person signing the form checks to see if that person is who he says he is? The red tape of bureaucracy will strangle us all!

Same-day voter registration would become significantly less likely.

Same-day registration fraud in New Hampshire in the 2016 election looks at first glance like 5000+ out of about 6000. (Politico.com and the Washington Compost would like you to believe that they are all college students.)

The second-most obvious effect of Lott’s proposal would be a reduction in voter rolls.

Because that pesky double-checking, which is the question at hand, might catch some fraud?

Another effect? A massive amount of bureaucracy. ... the NICS program costs $2.55 per check

Try to find somebody who's been a deficit hawk for more than five minutes who will wail that that's not a good deal for an honest election.

every two years, the FBI would need to spend 1,800 years of time making sure people could vote

"Let's assume that nobody will ever come up with any legal or technological changes to the background check procedure after it's mandated to be used more often and for more people."

He (John Lott) cites costs of $55 per background check in Oregon and $175 in Washington

Lott says that the cost can be $55-$175. Why is Washington charging $175? Do any states charge a dollar? The author doesn't wonder at all. It looks like Lott is citing those two states -- and mentions no others -- because they expensive outliers.