Download document [pdf] last updated December 31, 2011
In this legislative session, at least 38 states are considering or have considered some type of voter ID and/or proof of citizenship legislation. Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Most states in which a voter ID or proof of citizenship bill has passed or is currently pending already have some form of voter ID requirements in place; the bills described below would simply make existing proof of identity or citizenship requirements more restrictive.
Voter ID and proof of citizenship bills are frequently presented as non-partisan measures to improve the integrity of the statewide election systems across the country. Support for voter ID legislation, however, has tended to split along party lines. Republican governors and Republican-controlled legislatures are typically much more likely to pass proposed voter ID legislation. Where there is Democratic control in a legislature, passage of legislation supporting additional burdens on access to the polls is typically unlikely. Democratic governors, however, vary in their support for or rejection of voter ID legislation.