A Wisconsin study has determined that voter ID does not impact the levels of voter turnout, challenging the left-wing narrative that requiring identification to vote suppresses voters.
The study used data from the state’s voter ID requirements and found that “overall voter turnout in the state has increased.”
“Our analysis also found no evidence of disenfranchisement among minority groups or in Dane and Milwaukee counties, countering claims of negative effects on voter participation,” the group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) wrote.
“By analyzing decades of election data both before and after Wisconsin implemented Voter ID, we found a general rise in voter turnout, rather than the widespread disenfranchisement that critics often suggest,” WILL Research Director Will Flanders said. “Any claims suggesting Voter ID is “voter suppression” are merely political scare tactics aimed at undermining faith in Wisconsin’s elections. Furthermore, it’s worth exploring whether Voter ID can actually increase turnout by strengthening confidence in Wisconsin’s election system.”
Factors most likely to hinder voter turnout include poverty rates and education levels, the study explained.
“The findings do not support the conclusion that voter ID laws are restricting the right to vote,” the report asserted. “This directly undercuts the argument that constitutionalizing voter ID in Wisconsin would lead to disenfranchisement.”
The report concluded by arguing that voter suppression concerns should be “tested empirically rather than assumed.”
“Researching the effects of voter ID laws is undoubtedly hard because any impacts will be on the margins,” WILL wrote. “But when it comes to whether the state constitution should be amended to enshrine voter ID laws, this research is compelling evidence to counter the narrative that such provisions are discriminatory or result in disenfranchisement.”
