Voter ID Laws in the United States

1181 Words3 Pages

Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws have made trouble in states, including Texas, regarding to the various amount of identification requirements needed.
The idea of Voter ID laws began to sprung after the 2000 election, when George W. Bush won Florida after it was too close to call. The main issue that surfaced after the election was in regards to voter fraud. The first Voter ID law was the Help America Vote Act, which was signed into law by President Bush which required all first time voters of general elections to present a photo Id upon registering and voting. Help America Vote Act, or HAVA for short, was a coordinated attempt by Republicans to enhance security regarding the casting of ballots. HAVA also helped establish the Election Assistance Commission which would be in charge of creating new ballots and adjusting the security. This act was the first one that gave voters various options to use regarding the verification of their identity. After HAVA was signed into law, states began to act on the new proposals for Voter ID laws. Arizona was the first state to pass a Voter ID law, requiring citizens to have a state-issued photo ID when they were going to vote. In other states, proposals for similar laws began to pop up.
Civil Rights groups have launched various lawsuits...

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National Conference of State Legislatures. Wendy Underhill , 26 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
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Outside the Beltway. Doug Mataconis, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
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Pitts, Michael J.Neumann, Matthew D. "Documenting Disfranchisement: Voter Identification
During Indiana's 2008 General Election." Journal Of Law & Politics 25.3 (2009): 329-373. ContentSelect Research Navigator. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

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