Photo Voter ID

Should voters provide identification beyond a signature every time they vote? The 50 states are divided fairly evenly on this question. Twenty-three states say “no” and 27 states say “yes,” with a trend over the last several years toward stricter ID requirements.

Voter ID requirements are proposed as a key way to prevent election fraud by voter impersonation. The extent to which this type of election fraud occurs is difficult to document. Proponents of greater ID requirements maintain that the burden of requiring identification at the polls is minimal and appropriate to prevent ineligible voters from casting ballots, thus diminishing the voting power of eligible voters.