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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Teixeira: Voter ID? Fuggedaboutit, That Ship Has Sailed

The following article by Ruy Teixeira, author of The Optimistic Leftist and other works of political analysis, is cross-posted from his blog:

It makes sense to oppose Republicans’ efforts to make voting harder, though the potential efficacy of such efforts tends to be considerably exaggerated. (More potentially consequential are efforts to enhance partisan control over the vote-counting process.) But one thing Democrats and activists should stop worrying about is voter ID requirements. As poll after poll after poll has shown, voter ID requirements are widely popular and viewed as procedurally fair, rather than an onerous and unfair burden.

The latest confirmation of this comes from a UMass Amherst/WCBV poll which found 67 percent of the public favoring requiring all voters to show photo ID to vote, compared to just 25 percent who were opposed. Not only that, the requirement was favored by 62 percent of blacks, 64 percent of Latinos and 80 percent of Asians.

So let’s give up on this one OK? Voters are fine with this and we should be too.

2 comments on “Teixeira: Voter ID? Fuggedaboutit, That Ship Has Sailed

  1. Martin Lawford on

    Most Americans favor voter ID, yet the Democratic majority in the House has passed bill, HR 1, which would make state voter ID laws unenforceable. Most Americans oppose making D.C. a state, yet the Democratic majority in the House has passed a bill to make D.C. a state. Most Americans oppose reparations for slavery, yet the Democratic majority on the relevant committee has advanced a bill to plan reparations for slavery. If we keep taking the unpopular side of issues, the voters are going to deprive us of our majority because they will have concluded that we do not represent them.

    Reply
  2. David Fromowitz on

    We would still need to make sure that all photo IDs are accepted, not just ones that GOP voters are more likely to have. And we have to make sure that DMVs that often issue these IDs in Democratic leaning areas are not shut down “due to budgetary reasons” (and find another source to issue them for free if that is feasible—no modern poll taxes please). At least minimize the potential for Republican mischief making before you decide to give up on this fight.

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