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Abstract
Voter identification (ID) policies, especially those of the photo ID variety, have been hotly contested over the last few years. The primary concern surrounding these statutes amounts to lower turnout, especially among certain groups in the electorate, such as racial/ethnic minorities. In 2007, the way was cleared for Georgia to implement a new statute requiring registrants to present a government-issued photo ID to vote. Using population data on registrants from two election cycles coupled with information on a subgroup of registrants known to lack photo ID, we conduct a policy impact analysis of the Georgia voter ID law. We find that the new law did produce a suppression effect among those registrants lacking proper ID. Substantively, the law lowered turnout by about four-tenths of a percentage point in 2008. However, we find no empirical evidence to suggest that there is a racial or ethnic component to this suppression effect.
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Bios
Charles S. Bullock, III, is the Richard B. Russell Chair in Political Science and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Georgia. His teaching and research interests include Southern and legislative politics, redistricting and voting rights. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 28 books and more than 150 articles. His most recent books are Redistricting: The Most Political Activity in America, The Oxford Handbook of Southern Politics, The Triumph of Voting Rights in the South and Key States, High Stakes: Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the 2010 Elections.
M.V. Hood, III, is an associate professor of political science at the University of Georgia, where he conducts research in American politics and policy. He is coauthor of The Rational Southerner: Black Mobilization, Republican Growth, and the Partisan Transformation of the American South (Oxford University Press).
