There's No Free Lunch and There's No Free Voter Photo ID--We Pay and Voters Lose

 by Ernestine Krehbiel

President LWVK

On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Kansas, I strongly urged Governor Brownback  to veto the very expensive and unnecessary “voter photo identification” bill just sent to him from the Kansas State Legislature.  Unfortunately, he did not do that and the expensive and voter-supressing law is on the books in Kansas.

• Voters expected the economic crisis to be the first order of business in 2011, not voter ID.

This law is a prime example of wasteful use of taxpayers’ money that will likely cost citizens of Kansas millions of dollars annually. Kansans sent a clear message in the November 2010 election: They want responsible, cost-efficient government focused on building back our economy and jobs. Squandering precious taxpayer dollars to pay for voter photo ID, when our state has effective identification procedures already in place, will be seen by voters for what it really is-- politics as usual at a time when we are cutting essential state government services.

• Voter ID laws costs millions of dollars to implement.

In addition to the costs of supplying free ID’s to voters there are other significant costs that need to be addressed such as additional poll worker training, public education campaigns, defending against lawsuits, printing and mailing additional absentee ballots as well as additional cost to county and local governments that may need to extend hours of operation to accommodate voters who need to secure a photo ID. W hen you take all of these factors into consideration the fiscal impact quickly increases.

The cost of a Missouri law that did only half of the Kansas proposed law (no proof of citizenship required) cost Missouri $14 million dollars over three years. An example of how this foolish experiment hurts real citizens can be seen in what has already been cut in the budget, more such cuts will be required to pay for this voter photo ID program. Missouri’s cost in the first year alone was the same amount that is being cut for next year from Kansas that will cause the lost of hundreds of teachers, meals on wheels for seniors and  the shutdown of all courts for weeks next year causing the release of defendants for lack of a speedy trial OR it may cost counties to hold them in jail longer before a trial. 

• Numerous studies have found that the rare examples of voter impersonation are almost never the kind that could be prevented by a photo identification law.

There is no data whatsoever to prove this is the fraud problem that Kansas has. (An aide to the Secretary of State admitted that they could think of only one such case—a mother who forged her college son’s signature on an absentee ballot.) Indeed evidence proves that illegal voting is extremely low throughout the nation. At the Federal level only 24 people nation-wide were convicted of voter fraud in a recent five year period. Indeed, Americans are twice as likely to get hit by lighting as to have their vote cancelled out by a fraudulently cast vote.

There is almost certainly going to be a court challenge. US Courts have ruled that to charge someone for documents to be able to vote would violate the US constitution. (It would be a poll tax.) They ruled that states must provided free required documents.  However, neither the cost of this photo ID program nor money to defend a court challenge has been budgeted. Already the legislature has cut funding for schools, courts, mental health, highways, prisons, etc. It will be a shock to our entire state system if the ID bill expenses begin to be implemented with free state-provided voter photo identification when this COST FOR FREE VOTER PHOTO ID IS NOT EVEN INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET PASSED IN THE LEGISLATURE FOR 2012.

• Voter ID requirements will add substantial new burdens on election administrators and poll workers. Introducing a voter ID requirement will require an extensive public education campaign, including mailings, advertising and public service announcements, and added poll worker training.  There will not be groups such as the League of Women Voters conducting the voter registration drives in Veterans' Hospitals and nursing homes. Will the election staff expand to cover that?

This ID legislation requires eligible citizens to present a government-issued, current and valid photo identification at the polling place in 2012 and proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate and marriage records of name change) by 2013 in order to exercise their constitutional right to vote.  Research by the Brennen Center for Law and Justice has shown that 11.9 % of voters do not have photo ID at this point. At $18 per voter, the state will have to come up with an additional non-budgeted $200,000 for those voters alone; How much will tax payers have to pay for people to get free birth certificates that will be required by 2013?  

There is no such thing as a free voter ID even if the state pays for it. There are significant on-going costs for state and local governments, as well as indirect costs for citizens who apply for the ID. The burden on the these voters should be considered also. It will be greatest for citizens for whom it is most cost prohibitive or inconvenient to take off work, get transportation, stand in line, and apply for documentation. Often these individuals don’t have the underlying documentation that is needed to get an ID.  Rural residents must travel a long way to the DMV which may be open only a few days a month in the states less populated counties. Thus, this requirement would disenfranchise the very people who currently must work the hardest to vote.

• Numerous studies have found that the rare examples of any kind of fraud is not the voter impersonation kind. This law does not address other possible fraud. 

What about voters that the new census says move every year within or to Kansas? When it is time to get their new, free Kansas photo ID, for these 184,292 voters where will the money come from annually for the state to pay for $18 each? (That is over $3 million yearly just for the “movers”.) To repeat, the Voter ID bill costs are NOT in the budget that already cuts health care, elder care, schools and other vital services. Governor Brownback must veto this bill and tell its sponsors that this is not a time for this expensive experiment. 

In addition to the extraordinary cost, this new government program would disenfranchise tens of thousands of registered voters without a valid photo ID such as a drivers license due to disability, age, illness, transportation, or financial issues. In modern society, it is easy to assume that everyone has appropriate ID or can prove their citizenship. But it is more difficult than one might think.

The costs in time and money of obtaining proof of citizenship and photo ID will clearly discourage voter participation. Our state government should be in the business of making it easier for citizens to vote, not adding costly restrictions and hassles that will negatively impact voters.

The burden will be greatest for citizens for whom it is most cost prohibitive or inconvenient to take off work, get transportation, stand in line, and apply for documentation. Often these individuals don’t have the underlying documentation that is needed to get an ID.  Thus, this requirement would disenfranchise the very people who currently must work the hardest to vote.

Any proposal that restricts voter registration or raises barriers to voting is a fear-based approach instead of a fact-based solution. Our state governments should be in the business of making it easier for citizens to vote, not adding costly restrictions and hassles that will negatively impact all voters. LWV of Kansas calls on Governor Brownback to reject this costly and unnecessary legislation.