On Voter ID, Trust the Voters

By Nathan Benefield

Last session, Pennsylvania lawmakers advanced a proposed constitutional amendment to require voter identification in elections. The state House and Senate must pass this measure again to put it on the ballot as a referendum, giving voters the final say.

Regardless of which political party ends up controlling the state House of Representatives, supporting this constitutional amendment is a legislative no-brainer.

Voter ID is an overwhelmingly popular reform, with heavy support among Democrats, Republicans and independents nationwide. Most every other state already has voter ID requirements. They bolster faith in our democratic institutions — so crucial for sustaining representative government.

Pennsylvania has a lengthy, rigorous and transparent process for passing constitutional amendments. By requiring the Legislature to pass the identical language in two consecutive sessions, then giving voters the final say, constitutional amendments get far more debate and discussion than laws or even state budgets.

We’ve had several months since lawmakers first advanced a voter ID amendment, and the evidence is even clearer now that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should advance voter ID reform in 2023.

The proposed amendment requires voters to present valid identification if voting in person, or proof of identification if voting absentee or through a mail-in ballot. Moreover, the amendment obligates the state to provide free identification for those who don’t have it, so that all Pennsylvanians can exercise their right to vote. Providing free identification is an important step for enfranchising voters. But it also allows individuals better participation in all aspects of society. The government requires valid IDs for individuals to drive, check into a hotel room, fly on an airplane or apply for government benefits. A provision for free identification helps ensure that all Pennsylvanians — regardless of income status — have access to the ballot box and other services in their community.

It’s no surprise then that in Pennsylvania, 86% of voters support modernizing our election laws with reforms like a voter ID requirement. Even Governor-elect Josh Shapiro has signaled his openness to this winning proposal.

Currently, 35 states require some form of identification to vote, and several states — most recently Nebraska in November 2022 — have advanced photo-voter ID in recent years.

In Georgia, its 2021 election integrity reforms that included voter ID triggered concerns of voter suppression. Major corporations like Coca-Cola and Home Depot publicly criticized the bill, Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Atlanta in protest, and President Biden went so far as to decry the reforms as “Jim Crow in the 21st century.”

But despite this baseless criticism, Georgia voters set an all-time record for a midterm election turnout this November, with no evidence of “voter fraud” or “voter suppression,” and both Republicans and Democrats winning statewide races.

Research confirms that voter turnout has grown, even with voter ID requirements. While more than 30 states had voter ID laws on the books in 2018, analysis from Pew Research found that voter turnout during the 2018 midterm elections was at a record high across every major racial and ethnic group. And another study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that voter ID laws have no significant impact on elections.

A November 2022 Gallup poll found that just 63% of Americans had confidence that the upcoming midterm elections would be fair and accurate — a measure down more than 10 points in just 16 years. And a poll from this month reveals that for the seventh time in the last decade, Americans see “dissatisfaction with government as the nation’s top problem.”

The message is clear: Voters have grown distrustful of government and the election process.

Lawmakers in the next legislative session should do everything in their power to rebuild voter trust by ensuring our elections are safe, reputable and fair. Requiring voter ID for elections helps protect the integrity of all votes — and makes it easier to dispel allegations of fraud from either political party.

There are many important issues on the legislative agenda this coming year, but few as important — or as widely supported — as protecting the right to vote in fair elections to protect our democracy for generations to come.

Nathan Benefield is senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.