Findings from a new national survey on the prevalence of government-issued identification show that 9.1 percent of American citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, lack ready access to a document proving citizenship, such as a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or citizenship certificate.
The poll was conducted last fall on behalf of VoteRiders, the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.
The survey also found that, of the 21.3 million American citizens lacking ready access to documentary proof of citizenship, at least 3.8 million don’t have these documents at all. Although the poll didn’t cover the reasons why some American citizens don’t have documentary proof of citizenship, prior research shows myriad obstacles to obtaining such documents, including but not limited to the difficulty of proving citizenship for a child who wasn’t born in a hospital.
The survey’s results indicate that requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote would create significant barriers for eligible voters.
In addition, the poll shows that 11% of American citizens of color who are voting age are unable to readily access documentary proof of citizenship. For white American citizens of voting age, that figure is 8%.
The survey was administered by the polling firm SSRS to 2,386 U.S. citizens 18 and older. For more information, see “Who Lacks ID in America Today? An Exploration of Voter ID Access, Barriers, and Knowledge” by Jillian Andres, Samuel B. Novey and Michael J. Hanmer of the University of Maryland and Kevin Morris at the Brennan Center, and “Millions of Americans Don’t Have Documents Proving Their Citizenship Readily Available” by Brennan Center researchers Kevin Morris and Cora Henry.
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VoteRiders is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to ensure that voter ID laws do not prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot that counts. Visit voteriders.org.
The Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland educates, informs, and engages citizens and scholars in order to improve democratic governance. Visit cdce.umd.edu.
The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that strives to uphold the values of democracy. Visit brennancenter.org.
Public Wise also supported this research. Visit publicwise.org.
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