Goals for State-Federal Action

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that voters who wish to vote in a federal election must provide a valid driver’s license number, the last four digits of a Social Security number, or for those without a driver’s license or Social Security number, a state assigned unique identifier when registering to vote for the first time. HAVA also contains state flexibility that has allowed states to enact their own unique requirements as to what form of voter ID the voter must show at the actual polling place.

Recently, Congress has sought to require mandatory photo voter ID at the polling place for all voters in federal elections. This legislation would preempt state laws in forty-five states. If passed, this federal legislation would create an unfunded federal mandate of potentially the same magnitude as the Real ID Act which will cost states $11 billion to implement. NCSL supports the rights of states to pass voter ID laws that meet the needs and concerns of their individual constituents. Further, NCSL does not believe that the federal Congress should intrude into this area of election administration, which is within the traditional purview of the states. NCSL opposes federal legislation that preempts state voter ID laws and would impose an unfunded mandate on the states.

Expires July 2010