Modern-day voter ID laws require the voter to present some form of identification before being allowed to vote. These laws stem from practices that were developed in the infancy of American democracy. Practices like poll taxes, white primaries, literacy tests, and the grandfather clause are all examples of prerequisites and restrictions that were put into place that a voter would have to submit to before having access to a ballot. In 944 Smith v Allwright outlawed the use of white primaries and the Civil Rights Act of 964 as well as the 24th Amendment made poll taxes unconstitutional. These were crucial in giving people of color access to the polls and made way for the Voting Rights Act of 965. The Voting Rights Act gave the national government power to decide whether individuals were qualified to vote and to interject themselves with state and local election operations when they deem necessary. The Voting Rights Act also stated that Counties covered under the Voting Rights Act (all of nine southern states and parts of seven other states) had to submit to the U.S. Department of Justice any changes in election laws, such as new precinct lines or new polling places, well in advance of the election. This is known as the preclearance provisions (Bowman 73). Between 950 and 980 five states; South Carolina, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and Alaska, were the first states that requested voters to show identification. This did not include any photos but just a document with the voters name. These states also had provisions in place for a voter to be able to cast a ballot even if they did not have the identification that was requested. This expanded to fourteen states by 2000. The 2000 presidential election was incredibly impactful on election practices. Although it had virtually nothing to do with voter fraud congress wanted to reform election practices to avoid the issues the 2000 election brought about. The Help America Vote Act was passed in 2000 which was made to make sweeping reforms to the American voting process. It also included A reasonable provision about
presenting some form of ID for any voter who registers by mail and who has never voted in a federal election (Underhill 25). This also led to the development of the Carter-Baker commission, which was the commission on federal election reform. This commission was led by former president Jimmy Carter and former secretary of state James A. Baker III. This commission recommended to congress that all voters should be required to present photo IDs when placing a ballot. This is one of the earliest instances of what modern-day voter ID laws have become, however, Congress has not acted on this recommendation.
After the 2005 commission recommendation to include photo identification certain states started doing just that. Georgia and Indiana pioneered what is now known as strict voter ID laws. This is where voters cannot cast a regular ballot without presenting a valid ID. Differing from state to state, the valid form of ID may include a photo or no photo ID. Photo identification includes items such as drivers licenses, state-issued ID cards, military ID, or tribal ID. Non-photo identification is documentation that includes the voterΒs name and place of residence like a bank statement. Other states use non-strict voter id laws which are when voters can still cast a regular ballot if they do not have the requested ID by verifying their identity by other means. This can be done by signing an affidavit or the poll workers may vouch for the voter. States like New Hampshire will send a letter to the address on the affidavit and it must be returned signed saying that the person living at the address is the one that signed the affidavit. They also may be given a provisional ballot which will only be counted after the close of election day if the voter was eligible and determined via a signature or other verification that they are who they say they are. Most states that have strict voter identification make some exceptions. For example, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, and five other states all have exceptions for when someone has a religious objection to being photographed.