Voter ID Laws Are A Terrible Idea, But They Don’t Have To Be
Current attempts, mostly coming from the GOP, to force voters to present ID are just ways to make it harder for people to vote, particularly poor people and immigrants who have been naturalized. If anyone wants to debate this fact they are disingenuous -- this has been studied so much. They're also trying to "prevent" a problem that doesn't exist, voter fraud. Again, this subject has been heavily studied, but let me be clear:
There is absolutely no evidence to support claims of widespread voter fraud. In fact, voter fraud is so rare that it’s unlikely a single election, at any level (state, local, Federal) has been changed by voter fraud. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has only documented 1,300 cases of voter fraud spanning decades, and they were committed by both Democrats and Republicans.
People in this country illegally can’t vote, don’t vote, and no political party is pushing for them to vote. Very rarely one has been able to vote, and that is considered fraud and is documented and prosecuted.
In recent decades the Republican party has been actively engaged in voter suppression, redistricting, and election interference. This isn’t fraud — they’re using legal channels — but it is highly undemocratic, and it is highly alarming. Democrats have occasionally also partaken in gerrymandering, but those cases are more isolated and the Democratic Party has been pushing against gerrymandering at the national level, unsuccessfully, for decades.
But what if…
But I have two things to add that never get talked about because they're inconvenient for both political parties:
This is political dead weight for Democrats. It is cleverly designed by the right to look like the left wants fraud or wants illegal immigrants to vote.
There are actually places in the world that do voter ID right.
Since the 1990s, Estonia has invested heavily in digital infrastructure and services, creating a comprehensive online ecosystem for government and business interactions. Nearly all public services are available online 24/7 through a secure digital ID system. This includes digital signatures, online voting, e-residency for foreign entrepreneurs, digital tax filing, and electronic health records. The X-Road data exchange platform serves as the backbone, allowing secure data sharing between systems. Estonia's digital transformation has improved efficiency, transparency, security and accessibility of services while fostering a thriving tech startup ecosystem. The country aims to continue innovating with AI and proactive, personalized government services, positioning itself as a model for digital societies worldwide.
In this country the right has fought these measures -- some weak argument about privacy, and an even weaker one about states rights. The reality is that we could invest heavily in similar systems, make government incredibly efficient, make it more user friendly, and make it much more secure.
But the ONLY way to do this fairly is to do all the rest of it before even considering requiring voter ID. By ensuring that everyone was on a digital system, though, it would make it so much easier to require ID.
Is it possible? There are many companies that have a much larger customer base than the American government. It would take a fundamental shift in our priorities, away from bureaucracy and the patchwork systems run by individual states and toward a single, digital, Federal ID. It would also require a significant refocus on cyber security. But it is absolutely possible and it would have many benefits beyond election security.
I think the public should have full confidence that the elections are fair, accessible to all who qualify, and free of fraud. I think both parties should be working toward these goals together. I realize this is currently pie in the sky since Republicans are actively undermining democracy (with a small d), but I actually believe that Republican voters, at the ground level, might be interested in some of these proposals.
