The latest Gallup survey showed how popular voter ID laws are, though 53% of Democrats asked back the requirement.
Voter identification requirements are wildly popular with Americans according to a new survey from Gallup. More than 80% of those surveyed were in favor of requiring photo ID to vote while nearly the same number of those asked favored a requirement to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 36 states have statutes that either require or request a voter provide “some form of identification” when voting. In 2012, Pennsylvania’s legislature enacted a voter ID requirement, but the law was overturned as unconstitutional two years later.
Proponents of voter ID laws point to a 2005 report by the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform co-chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker which concluded voter ID requirements have “no negative effect on registration or turnout overall or for any specific group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation.” Those who oppose voter ID laws argue they are “ineffective” against voter fraud by are part of a long history of “restrictive voting laws to disenfranchise minority voters.”
Gallup’s survey showed a large partisan gap in support of voter ID requirements: While 97% of GOP respondents back the requirement with only 53% of Democrats supporting the measure.
There have been several attempts in Congress to require proof of citizenship at the time someone registers to vote, most recently with House Speaker Mike Johnson adding the requirement to a government funding bill last month.
The same Gallup survey showed more than three-quarters of respondents in favor of early voting. According to Gallup, forty-seven states in addition to the District of Columbia offer some type of voting before Election Day.
While many states had a “no-excuse-necessary” early voting option before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased the number of voters utilizing mail-in voting. Pennsylvania voters can vote “by mail” on-demand at their local county elections office. Pennsylvanians must register to vote by October 21st for the November 5, 2024 election. October 29th is the deadline to request a mail-in or absentee ballot. Absentee ballots must be received by 8PM on Election Day in order to be counted.
So far, more than 30 million votes have been cast early across the country. As of October 22nd, more than 1 million Pennsylvanians have returned their ballots to their local board of elections.
