Democrat Opposition to Voter ID Foments Distrust
In his essay explaining why The Washington Post would not be endorsing a presidential candidate this year, Jeff Bezos wrote, “Voting machines must meet two requirements. They must count the vote accurately, and people must believe they count the vote accurately.”
Democrat resistance to something as simple as voter ID raises many people’s suspicions, as do the excuses that black people cannot use the internet.
He underscored the main point: “The second requirement is distinct from and just as important as the first.” People must be confident in election integrity.
For years we have heard that Donald Trump and his supporters are a “threat to democracy.” Towards the end of the campaign we were told that Trump was akin to Hitler himself, in no small part because of his claims of fraud in the 2020 election. For months Americans were bombarded with assurances that our election system was secure. Anyone who dared to question the security of the election was deemed dangerous, even a Russian saboteur. (READ MORE: Election Integrity and Its Discontents)
Yet, many of those loud voices seem to be not the least bit interested in simple reforms that would promote the confidence that Bezos says is crucial.
Trust in American institutions, especially government, has been plummeting in recent years, and elections are no exception. While this divide over elections is supposedly partisan, with Republican rubes distrusting our elections, those of us with memories extending beyond last week’s news cycle can recall the distrust that Democrats have heaped upon the system, especially in the wake of their losses in 2016, where for years mainstream Democrats claimed that Clinton was the rightful winner.
Or, recall the case of Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who continued to claim she was the rightful winner long after the election had been decided.
In the wake of Trump’s victory one can find numerous Democrats distrusting the results, being unable to fathom such a red victory.
It is clear that, on both sides, there are some people who distrust the system when they lose and, when they win, think it miraculous that they overcame the other side’s perfidy.
Such an outlook is not healthy. It does not matter how many times the media calls in “experts” to assure us that everything is in good order. Trust in the media is even lower than that in Congress. People resent seeing their good-faith concerns dismissed as delusional.
Some people will insist no matter what that their side was cheated when it loses. Yet there are simple steps that can reassure people that their votes do indeed count and in turn help reduce the distrust.
The first way to increase trust in elections is to implement voter ID requirements. Beyond any practical effect that this requirement would have, it would hold symbolic meaning that would increase confidence. Yet, Democrats consistently oppose this simple requirement.
We are told that acquiring an ID is a massive impediment to voting for many people and that therefore such a requirement infringes upon people’s right to vote. We are told that minorities in particular cannot manage to acquire an ID, either because they cannot get to the DMV or are unable to use the internet. Vice President Harris seems to think that rural Americans are unable to get a copy of their ID made because they do not have access to printers, or something. Such claims are absurd, and no one really believes them.
An ID is needed to conduct numerous essential aspects of daily life. An ID is necessary for driving a car, buying alcohol and cigarettes, and opening a bank account or cashing a check. (READ MORE: SCOTUS Defends Election Integrity, Dems Panic)
Owning a firearm is a constitutionally enumerated right, unlike voting. Yet, there is little protest from Democrats that all these imagined obstacles mean we should do away with showing ID when buying a gun.
Democrat resistance to something as simple as voter ID raises many people’s suspicions, as do the excuses that black people cannot use the internet or rural people are unable to access copy machines.
The Democratic opposition to voter ID is not merely rhetorical.
Currently there are 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 states with divided governments. If one examines these trifectas based on their voter ID requirements, the results are rather stunning. The Heritage Foundation produces an election integrity scorecard based on a variety of categories. The voter ID aspect is worth 20 points and is scored based on four factors, including a requirement for ID to vote in person and a photo ID or unique identifier for absentee voting.
The range of Democratic scores is 0 (2) to 13 (2) with an average score of 4.41.
In contrast, the Republican range is 6 (1) to 20 (8) with an average score of 16.36.
These numbers speak for themselves.
There are other election reforms that could be undertaken to increase security and confidence. These moves would achieve more than journalists and “experts” repeating “Just trust us, bro.”
However, implementing stricter voter ID requirements is a simple reform that would provide an easy first step to restoring trust. Democratic opposition, and their excuses for this opposition, is itself suspect and only further undermines trust in the system.
Zachary Yost is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. Daniel Klein is professor of economics at George Mason University.
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