03 Mar 2019Working Paper Summaries

Strict ID Laws Don’t Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2016

by Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

Evidence on the consequences of strict ID laws adopted between 2008 and 2016 shows no significant negative effect on registration or turnout overall or for any subgroup defined by age, gender, race, or party affiliation. ID requirements had no significant effect on actual or perceived fraud, either.

Author Abstract

U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.3-billion-observations panel, we find the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. These results hold through a large number of specifications and cannot be attributed to mobilization against the laws, measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement. ID requirements have no effect on fraud either—actual or perceived. Efforts to improve elections may be better directed at other reforms.