Cap Critical Thinking Paper

Ethan Paul
Green Group

Voter fraud is a concern in the United States. People often talk about the era where the states
were run by corrupt political machines that stuffed the ballot boxes. By the mid 1950s some
states began asking for some form of written identification. In 1999 the Republican governor of
Virginia, Jim Gilmore attempted to introduce a first of its kind program to require voters to show
a photo ID at the voting booth. While this initiative failed, it inspired many other states to try
similar measures. Currently, 18 states require some form of photo ID to be shown at the polls in
order to vote. In 2013, North Carolina authored and passed a strict voter photo identification law.
That also, eliminates same-day registration, stops pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds,
prohibits the counting of provisional votes cast outside of voters home precincts, and more.1
Now, this law without any information may sound like an excellent way to prevent voter fraud;
however, it is horribly flawed due to the following reasons. Contemporary voter fraud is virtually
nonexistent as there are very few legitimate cases per year. The majority of actual voter fraud is
committed by mail order ballot and not by voter impersonation and current voter ID laws lower
the turnout of minorities and the poor. Therefore the North Carolina state government must
repeal current photo ID laws, and pass some regulation on mail order voting due to it
encompassing a majority of voter fraud, so that any concerns of fraud are diminished.

A compilation by the Washington Post of different studies from a variety of different sources
concludes that voter fraud is vanishingly rare.2 In the compilation, it is mentioned that while a
North Carolina government study found that up to 50 possible cases of voter fraud occurred by
voter impersonation it turned out most were clerical errors.2 According to a New York Times
article from 2007, a department of justice study found no evidence of any organized effort to
skew federal elections, according to court records and interviews.3 The article continues that

even though that some have claimed widespread fraud and corruption onlyabout 120 people
have been charged and 86 convicted as of last year.3

Fox News, while defending photo ID laws admits that, officials say there have been few cases
of voter fraud.4 Another Republican news source, The Washington Times says that government
analysts said they were not able to figure out how much voter fraud the problem voter ID
laws are meant to combatis actually going on.5 Politifact found that Texas Governor Greg
Abbott's comment that Voter Fraud is Rampant was Pants on Fire False the lowest ranking
on the site.6 The question then becomes if voter fraud is so rare then why do states go out of their
way to combat it? What benefits can the state possibly have if it takes time and effort to enforce
these rules?

Another problem with North Carolinas photo ID laws is that they do not stop the major
contributor to voter fraudmail order ballots. Absentee ballots or mail order ballots are votes
that are cast before an actual election date by mail due to an inability to be present on the
election day. While voter fraud itself is unlikely, fraud by mail order ballots continues to be the
most prevalent form of voter fraud. According to the Washington Post, there have been
examples of fraud, including fraud perpetrated through the use of absentee ballots severe enough
to force new elections at the state level.7 This form of voter fraud could potentially be extremely
dangerous and yet there is no serious measure taken by North Carolinas state government or any
other for that matter against this pressing form of voter fraud. This is the type that could decide a
extremely close state election, and probably local ones as well.

This is far cry from the voter fraud being aggressively targeted by state legislatures around the
country and specifically the law being enacted by the government of North Carolina. Voter
impersonation is the form that is targeted by photo ID laws. It is when a person impersonates
another at the ballot box. Of all the types of voter fraud this is one of the least prevalent. The
article above states, Almost no one shows up at the polls pretending to be someone else in an
effort to throw an election.7 In fact the bipartisan web site Politifact found that voter
impersonation is literally less likely than getting struck by lightning.8 Now third world nations
may require some similar law, because they are more likely to have voter impersonation take
place, and Mexico has similar laws in effect. However in the United States these laws are
unnecessary as legitimate fraud is uncommon.

All of this boils down to one final point who is primarily affected by these laws? Fox News, in
an article about the New Hampshire photo ID laws, writes that nobody will be majorly affected
as long as they remember to bring an ID.4 However based on research it primarily affects three
groups: minorities, the poor, and the young. These three groups are less likely to own a drivers
licence which can be used at the polls as a photo ID. According to an article by Slate, Minorities
are less likely to have drivers licenses because they are more likely to be poor and to live in
urban areas9 Wickman. Obviously, the poor are less likely to own a car because they are unlikely to
be able to afford it. Now minorities and students who live in urban areas would be more likely to
ride public transportation, such as buses and the subway to save money. Before the 2016 North
Carolina primaries CBS news reported that thousands could be turned away from the polls. The
article continued that, North Carolina estimates 225,000 of its voters may not have a valid
driver's license.10 And went on to say that many Latino voters may be denied because of
conflicting last names. Passports which also can be used often take a while to get, and sometimes

require a long drive to get to an area that issues them. Military IDs are also accepted but not
everyone is enlisted. Other documentation is only available to be issued miles away from urban
centers and these offices often open extremely infrequently. All this is not to say that every
minority, student, or person below the poverty line does not have any form of Id, nor is it to say
that all minorities will be scared to go to the polls because of these laws. This just shows that
possibly a significant number of people could be turned away from the polls because it is
extremely hard for them to obtain a form of ID based on economic status, work schedule, or
geographical location. This law makes it harder for some to vote, and as a democracy it should
be made easier for people to vote.

The North Carolina Board of Elections produced a video stating Be recognized because every
voice matters!11, but this does not seem to be the case. Minorities, the poor, and students
primarily vote for Democrats while North Carolina is a Republican run state as the executive and
legislative branches are Republican controlled. Most of the current states with photo ID laws are
also governed by Republicans with some exceptions. North Carolina has however voted for
Democratic presidents, most recently in the 2008 election. During that election the voter turnout
was 58% however in the 2012 election voter turnout was lowered to 54%, and while minority
turnout as a whole was higher than white turnout in the 2012 election it was lower than the
minority turnout in the 2008 election. In 2012 minority turnout being 67.4% and in 2008 it being
69.1%. Now some might say they are afraid that undocumented immigrants could illegally vote
in an election. This would be reckless for illegal immigrants to attempt due to them wanting to
remain undetected. Attempting to register to vote could lead to an easy deportation. The
Washington Times states, Requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls does lower turnout,
Congress nonpartisan watchdog concluded in a major report released Wednesday that said

young, black and newly registered voters were most likely to stay home.5. Based on this and all
other information it would be likely to conclude that voter ID laws are specifically designed to
lower the turnout of these groups in order to win elections, This is not only immoral it goes
against the peoples right to vote.

In conclusion, if the North Carolina state government wants an effective solution to prevent
voter fraud, an ideal proposal would be to abolish the current photo ID law and replace it with
some regulation of mail order ballots. Possibly, one solution is that voters send in a special form
with their vote that includes an address, social security number, phone number, and other
personal information which the government can easily check and verify. This would not unfairly
take away the ability to vote from minorities and help make sure the major source of voter fraud
is kept in check.

Works Cited

1:Weiser, Wendy R. "Voter Suppression: How Bad? (Pretty Bad)." American Prospect. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <http://prospect.org/article/22-states-wave-new-voting-restrictions-threatensshift-outcomes-tight-races>.
2:Ingram, Christopher. "7 Papers, 4 Government Inquiries, 2 News Investigations and 1 Court
Ruling Proving Voter Fraud Is Mostly a Myth." Washington Post. Washington Post, 9 July 2014.
Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/09/7-papers-4-

government-inquiries-2-news-investigations-and-1-court-ruling-proving-voter-fraud-is-mostly-amyth/>.
3:Lipton, Eric. "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud." New York Times. N.p., 12 Apr.
2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12fraud.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=1>.
4:Shawn, Eric. "New Hampshire Combats Voter Fraud, Requiring ID for 1st Time in Primary."
Fox News. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/26/new-hampshire-combats-voter-fraud-requiringid-for-1st-time-in-primary.html>.
5:Dianan, Stephen. Voter ID laws lower turnout of blacks, new voters: watchdog. Washington
Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/8/photoid-laws-do-hurt-voter-turnout-study/?page=all>.
6:Selby, W. Gardner. "Light a match to Greg Abbott's ridiculous claim about 'rampant voter
fraud." Politifact. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/mar/17/greg-abbott/light-match-greg-abbottsclaim-about-rampant-voter/>.
7:Bump, Philip. "The Disconnect between Voter ID Laws and Voter Fraud." Washington Post.
Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/10/13/the-disconnect-between-voterid-laws-and-voter-fraud/>.

8:Kertscher, Tom. "Which happens more: People struck by lightning or people committing voter
fraud by impersonation?" Politifact. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2016/apr/07/mark-pocan/which-happens-morepeople-struck-lightning-or-peop/>.
9:Wickman, Forrest. "Why Do Many Minorities Lack ID?" Slate. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/08/voter_id_laws_why_do_mi
norities_lack_id_to_show_at_the_polls_.html>.

10:Straussman, Mark. "N.C. voters heading to polls face strict new voter ID law." CBS. N.p., 15
3 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/campaign-2016-strict-new-voterid-law-could-turn-away-thousands-of-north-carolina-voters/>.
11:Be Recognized. North Carolina State Board Of Elections, 2016. Film.
Annotated Bibliography
1:Weiser, Wendy R. "Voter Suppression: How Bad? (Pretty Bad)." American Prospect. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <http://prospect.org/article/22-states-wave-new-voting-restrictions-threatensshift-outcomes-tight-races>. An Article that gives a description on how Voter ID is more of a
restriction then a precaution.
2:Ingram, Christopher. "7 Papers, 4 Government Inquiries, 2 News Investigations and 1 Court
Ruling Proving Voter Fraud Is Mostly a Myth." Washington Post. Washington Post, 9 July 2014.
Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/09/7-papers-4government-inquiries-2-news-investigations-and-1-court-ruling-proving-voter-fraud-is-mostly-amyth/>. Multiple sources of information to show how minuscule the amount of voter fraud is.
3:Lipton, Eric. "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud." New York Times. N.p., 12 Apr.
2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12fraud.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=1>. A study by the department of justice.

4:Shawn, Eric. "New Hampshire Combats Voter Fraud, Requiring ID for 1st Time in Primary."
Fox News. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/26/new-hampshire-combats-voter-fraud-requiringid-for-1st-time-in-primary.html>. Fox News Republican Source
On New Hampshire Voter Id Laws
5:Dianan, Stephen. Voter ID laws lower turnout of blacks, new voters: watchdog. Washington
Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/8/photoid-laws-do-hurt-voter-turnout-study/?page=all>. Another Republican news source on Voter Id
Laws.
6:Selby, W. Gardner. "Light a match to Greg Abbott's ridiculous claim about 'rampant voter
fraud." Politifact. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. Politifact Investigating a govoners claims that
voter fraud is rampant <http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/mar/17/gregabbott/light-match-greg-abbotts-claim-about-rampant-voter/>.
7:Bump, Philip. "The Disconnect between Voter ID Laws and Voter Fraud." Washington Post.
Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/10/13/the-disconnect-between-voterid-laws-and-voter-fraud/>. An Article by the Washington post that shows the disconnect between
what voter ID Laws Prevent over actual voter fraud.

8:Kertscher, Tom. "Which happens more: People struck by lightning or people committing voter
fraud by impersonation?" Politifact. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2016/apr/07/mark-pocan/which-happens-morepeople-struck-lightning-or-peop/>. Politifact investigating claims on whether voter fraud is less
likely than lightning.

9:Wickman, Forrest. "Why Do Many Minorities Lack ID?" Slate. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/08/voter_id_laws_why_do_mi
norities_lack_id_to_show_at_the_polls_.html>. Slate Website On Lack Of Voter ID among
Minorities.

10:Straussman, Mark. "N.C. voters heading to polls face strict new voter ID law." CBS. N.p., 15
3 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/campaign-2016-strict-new-voterid-law-could-turn-away-thousands-of-north-carolina-voters/>. CBS report on North Carolina
voter ID laws.
11:Be Recognized. North Carolina State Board Of Elections, 2016. Film. A film produced by The
North Carolina State Government to promote new voter ID