Categories - Photo ID

Registration Early Vote/In-Person Absentee Voting Voter List Maintenance Voting Machines and Poll Workers Vote By Mail Central Website Access Photo ID Felon Enfranchisement

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The following states received 100% in Photo ID:

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At first glance, requiring photo identification to vote seems natural. We require a photo ID for driving, getting into clubs, and drinking – why not voting? And everyone carries a photo ID, right? But there are a lot of problems with photo ID laws, which require showing a photo ID to vote. First, photo ID laws are a solution in search of a problem. Requiring a photo ID is supposed to prevent in-person voter fraud, but overwhelming evidence shows that in-person voter fraud is exceedingly rare – so much so that there are more instances of lightning strikes than there are of in-person voter fraud. In other words, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than have your vote offset by someone committing voter fraud. Instead of solving a problem, photo ID laws only serve to create them: photo ID laws create voter confusion and decrease voter turnout; they are prohibitively costly to implement; and, most importantly, they unnecessarily disenfranchise qualified voters who are unable to get a photo ID. And these burdens fall disproportionately on the poor, people of color, young people, and senior citizens. While obtaining a photo ID seems easy for most people, bureaucracy makes it almost impossible for some voters: changing documentation requirements, uninformed local clerk officials, and limited local clerk office hours are all barriers many individuals face when attempting to obtain a photo ID. And, in some areas of the country, voters have to travel over 150 miles to get a photo ID. In a nation where voting is a fundamental right for all citizens, this is unacceptable. To determine whether a state has voter-friendly rules related to photo ID, the Scorecard includes the following metrics:

• Whether the state requires a photo ID to vote on Election Day
• Whether the state requires a photo ID to vote early or by mail
• Whether the state, if a photo ID is required, has an alternative process that does not require further action by the voter (e.g., signing an affidavit).

On the final metric, a state receives full credit if no photo ID is required. Each of these metrics show whether a state makes it easier to vote by not placing unnecessary ID-related restrictions on voters.

For full details, please visit our detailed calculation spreadsheet.