Republican Voter ID Outrage Is a Sham – and They Know It

One of the many false claims that Donald Trump, bolstered by the Republican Party’s political apparatus, has made is that historically “blue” states allow undocumented immigrants to vote, and that requiring identification at voting locations would somehow solve this problem. These claims are repeated often, despite a lack of evidence, and are used to cast doubt on the legitimacy of voters U.S. elections.

Their proposed solution — requiring a voter to present identification before voting — fails on several fronts, both legally and practically.

Risk of Disenfranchising Eligible Voters

Courts have repeatedly struck down attempts to impose strict voter ID requirements on the basis that requiring an identification that costs money is akin to a poll tax. Such requirements risk disenfranchising eligible voters who lack the financial means, transportation, or time needed to obtain a driver’s license or other state-issued identification, particularly in rural and low-income communities.

This is not a hypothetical concern. It is a well-documented consequence of restrictive voter ID policies.

Republicans Would Still Call Foul

Many states issue driver’s licenses that do not meet the documentation requirements of REAL ID, and these licenses are used by both U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants to drive legally. While they don’t have all of the “benefits” that REAL ID’s offer, those licenses are necessary in order to obtain auto insurance and to drive legally.

Because non-citizens are permitted to obtain driver’s licenses in some states, requiring drivers licenses to vote would still leave Donald Trump and Republicans any easy path for continuing to claim “voter fraud”. Their argument would simply shift to accusations that states are issuing identification without verifying citizenship.

The federal government strongly encouraged states to adopt REAL ID standards, yet for practical and policy reasons nearly all states continue to issue non-REAL-ID licenses. Eliminating those licenses would predictably increase the number of uninsured drivers on the road, raising costs for drivers, insurers, and property owners nationwide.

Democrats Proposed A Solution

There is a third option that would meet Republican demands for voter identification and proof of citizenship at the ballot box without imposing a financial burden on voters: issuing free, federally provided identification cards that meet REAL ID documentation standards.

Such an ID would allow citizens without REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses not only to vote, but also to fly domestically and enter federal buildings. Tying voter identification to REAL ID standards would provide the strongest possible assurance that only U.S. citizens are voting, without disenfranchising voters who cannot afford state-issued identification.

Legislation proposing this exact solution has been introduced by Democrats – the H.R.4852 – IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act – yet it remains stalled because not a single Republican has been willing to co-sponsor the bill.

Why Won’t Republicans Back Free Federal ID?

Republicans benefit politically from the continued existence of the “illegal voter” narrative far more than they would from actually resolving the issue they insist exists. If elections were conducted using free, federally issued, citizenship-verified identification, Republican losses in blue states could no longer be dismissed as the result of voter fraud.

It is far more useful, politically, to leave the alleged problem unresolved than to risk disproving the narrative entirely.

This is yet another example of the dishonesty and bad faith that has increasingly defined the political right over the past decade.