2009 Ed Meese Award Winner Hans von Spakovsky Publishes Paper on Voter ID

2009 Ed Meese Award Winner and RNLA member Hans von Spakovsky has published a paper on voter ID for the Heritage Foundation. Mr. von Spakovsky says there is a need for voter ID laws because of the importance that eligible voters are not stolen or diluted by a fraudulent or bogus vote cast by an ineligible or imaginary voter.

Von Spakovsky responds to critics of voter ID by citing the endorsement of voter ID by the bi-partisan Baker-Carter Commission on Federal Election Reform. He also retorts critics who contend that voter fraud does not exist by citing the Supreme Court’s recognition of voter fraud in Crawford v. Marion County Board of Elections.  

He states that because of the notoriously endemic under-enforcement of voter fraud cases, voter ID laws are needed to detect and deter such fraud. One case occurred in New York in 1984. A New York state grand jury discovered a widespread voter fraud conspiracy that occurred in Brooklyn over a 14-year span. There were thousands of fraudulent votes in state and congressional elections.

Von Spakovsky also discusses ACORN, the ethically challenged organization that has been found to have engaged in the submission of tens of thousands of invalid voter registration forms in multiple jurisdictions. This massive case of voter fraud was only able to occur because of minimal screening efforts. He also cites two recent studies by Secretaries of State that found inaccuracies in their voter rolls after only a preliminary check.

Von Spakovsky also responds to Democratic attacks that voter ID laws suppresses turnout of minority, poor, and elderly voters. He cites numerous independent studies focusing on voter ID. More specifically, a study that found after Georgia and Indiana passed voter ID laws, minority turnout actually increased. During the 2008 election in Georgia, a state with one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country, had the highest turnout in history. States that have no voter ID, such as Illinois, have had smaller increases in voter turnout. Studies also found 82 percent of Americans support voter ID, as well as a study in three states that less than 0.5 percent of eligible voters do not have proper identification.

Lawsuits have also been thrown out in Federal courts due to the inability of plaintiffs to produce a single case of voter suppression. This is indicative of the tireless efforts of voter ID opponents to hurl accusations of suppression and intimidation that have been proven untrue. It is unclear when they will drop their attacks to look at facts and support this reasonable and commonsense solution to voter fraud.

To read Hans von Spakovsky’s entire paper, go here.