Mathews: Voter ID debate distracts from real election threats

"Under current law, when Californians register to vote, we must affirm under penalty of perjury that we are U.S. citizens and must provide verification information, including our dates-of-birth, Social Security numbers or driver's licenses. The initiative goes further, adding a state constitutional amendment requiring voters to present government-issued identification at the polls, or the last four digits of a government-issued ID when voting by mail."

"Voter ID doesn't prevent voter fraud, for two reasons. First, there is precious little voter fraud in this country. Last year, the Brookings Institution, using data from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, found that voter fraud has never altered an election outcome in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, over the past 30 years, more than 100 million voters have cast votes, with only 39 cases of voter fraud."

"Second, voter fraud rarely involves the kind of fraud voter ID is supposed to prevent: people impersonating voters at the polls. The Heritage site documents just 34 cases of impersonation, The Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive institute, concluded that voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent. This is unsurprising. Ask yourself, if you were trying to steal an election, would you send individuals out to impersonate voters? No, because that would involve stealing votes one by one, which is inefficient."

California faces a ballot initiative proposing a state constitutional amendment requiring government-issued identification at polling places or the last four digits of a government-issued ID for mail ballots. Current law requires registered voters to affirm citizenship under penalty of perjury and provide verification information such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, or driver's licenses. Evidence shows voter fraud is rare and has never altered a U.S. election outcome; a study found just 39 cases in Pennsylvania across 30 years. Voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and impersonation would be an inefficient method to steal elections.

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