What has the Supreme Court said about voter ID laws?
About this video
This short video explains that the Supreme Court has said states can have voter ID laws. Whether a challenge to a voter ID law succeeds depends on the type of law, since some accept a broad range of IDs while others accept only a small set that can exclude certain populations.
You'll be able to
- state what the Supreme Court has said about whether states may have voter ID laws.
- explain why some voter ID laws are more likely to be successfully challenged than others.
Key words
- Voter ID law
- A law requiring voters to show identification before voting.
- Proof of citizenship requirement
- A rule requiring people to show they are citizens, for example when registering to vote.
- Litigant
- A person or group that brings or defends a case in court.
Transcript
[MUSIC] In recent years, some of the challenges that we've seen deal with proof of citizenship requirements that states sometimes have, and also voter ID laws. The Supreme Court has said that states can have voter ID laws. But whether or not a challenge to a voter ID law is successful depends on the type of voter ID law a state adopts. Every voter ID law is not the same.
Some voter ID laws, require a broad range of IDs, in order to make it easier for people to comply with the law. Some states have more restrictive voter ID laws, though and they take a very small universe of IDs in order to exclude certain populations. Every voter ID law is not the same. This is why when litigants challenge voter ID laws, whether or not they are successful depends, because these laws definitely vary. [MUSIC]
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