Republican politicians apparently don’t want some people to vote, especially the elderly, the disabled, the poor, minorities and, to be sure, most legal immigrants — many of whom tend to support Democrats’ view of a citizen-friendly government. The vote Monday by Tennessee’s Republican-controlled state Senate to require registered voters to show photo IDs — a driver’s license or a photo ID from another governmental entity — as a requisite for casting a ballot underscores this sentiment. The action reflects precisely how Republican-dominated legislatures around the country keep pushing stiffer voter identification laws to restrain voters whose votes they don’t care about.
That’s not the case everywhere. Some 23 states still observe the older common standard for verifying a voter’s registration: poll workers simply look at a voter’s registration card, sign them in and give them a ballot. For these states, that’s enough. A person’s voter-registration card confirms that an election commission office has already checked a voter’s eligibility through a variety of documents.
Eighteen states, presently including Tennessee, make voting harder. They require all voters to show an ID document, but not necessarily a photo ID, before they vote. They may present something like a Social Security card or a credit card.
Four states request all voters to show a photo ID, and allow those who have no photo ID to sign affidavits attesting to their voter registration, which is typically checked further.
Three states — Georgia, Florida and Indiana — now require all voters to show a photo ID, either a driver’s license or an ID issued by another governmental entity. In Georgia and Indiana, however, the state offers a convenient, free-photo ID service to people who need a photo ID to vote.