With the 2012 election only a few months away, political competition heightens and issues in the electoral process become partisan. At the heart of the debate are statewide voter ID laws that claim to prevent in-person voter impersonation fraud. But has voter impersonation fraud proven to be such a significant matter that warrants such laws that disenfranchise so many eligible citizens?
The number of voters who do not have photo ID is far greater than the cases of voter impersonation fraud that would be prevented. In Pennsylvania, 800,000 formerly eligible voters will have their right to vote taken away by this law. The new voter ID restrictions make it harder for people who have used other forms of ID to prove their identity, especially students, people with disabilities, seniors, minority citizens, and low income individuals.
Voter ID is one of many recent unnecessary changes states have made to voting procedures that disenfranchise voters. Other restrictions include reducing early voting, eliminating early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, and repealing same-day registration.