Voter ID Nonsense

It’s that time again—your 4-year reminder that Republicans keep pushing Voter ID laws to fix a problem that doesn’t actually exist. Why? Because they’re conning you.

Remember when Pennsylvania House Leader Mike Turzai famously stated that voter ID would help Mitt Romney win the state. It was a moment of honesty during a debate on policy full of disinformation being pushed by Turzai and his party.

This is because Republicans create an alternative reality by ignoring key facts, withholding context, and making stuff up while pushing racist conspiracy theories about immigrants to keep *you* in a state of anger about “the other.” Republicans don’t have good policies to stand on, so instead, they rely on fear and misinformation.

We all like logic, but real logic isn’t just agreeing with what we already believe—basic philosophy demands we have evidence to back it up. If there’s no solid proof, it’s just opinion or ideology masquerading as “logic.”

So, let’s dig into the facts and look at what the data actually shows, rather than relying on fear or myths.

VOTER FRAUD IS MATHMATICALLY INSIGNIFICANT

Studies consistently show that voter fraud in the U.S. is so rare it’s basically non-existent.

  • Justin Levitt’s Loyola Law Study found just 31 credible instances of voter impersonation out of over 1 billion votes cast from 2000 to 2014—roughly 0.0000031%.
  • According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the incidence of voter fraud is between 0.0003% and 0.0025%. That’s far below what would even remotely influence an election outcome.
  • The far-right Heritage Foundation, key author of Project 2025, has a website that lists all verified cases of voter fraud on their own website. Go look at it. Top right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation’s best evidence is… in Pennsylvania… since 1994… the number of cases of impersonation at the polls is… 6. Six. 6. Not six million. Six. Fucking six. Out of the 70 million votes cast in the state during this time that accounts for 0.0000086% of all votes. Look at all those zeros.

RISK VS REWARD

The massive risks of attempting voter fraud far outweigh any miniscule benefit. The penalties for even a single case of voter fraud are severe, often classified as felonies that result in substantial fines, lengthy prison sentences, and long-term disenfranchisement. The legal, social, and economic consequences create a strong deterrent, making it irrational for anyone to risk their freedom or livelihood for the minimal or non-existent electoral impact of a single fraudulent vote​.

  • In many states, voter fraud is a felony offense that can result in heavy fines and years of prison time. Most types of voter fraud, such as impersonation, double voting, or submitting false information, are classified as felonies. Convictions can result in substantial fines (often $10,000 or more) and prison sentences of up to several years. Even misdemeanors related to election interference carry penalties that can disrupt an individual’s life.
  • Convictions for voter fraud often result in disenfranchisement, where individuals lose their right to vote altogether. In states with restrictive laws on felon voting rights, individuals convicted of voter fraud may never regain their voting privileges.
  • Instances of voter fraud are frequently publicized to deter others. Those convicted face not just legal repercussions, but also reputational damage that affects employment, social standing, and community ties.

ACCURACY OF AUDITS

States always conduct audits and verifications after elections, and these audits when they catch discrepancies, many of which turn out to be administrative errors, not fraud. All of the states, including those with close results in the 2020 presidential race, have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary.

  • Trump’s own officials found after a massive study that the 2020 election was the most secure election in America’s history. Again, Donald Trump’s own election officials completely and utterly refuted Trump’s own election disinformation, including the need for Voter ID.
  • The Cyber Ninjas Audit: After the 2020 election, a Trump-backed group called Cyber Ninjas conducted a months-long audit of Arizona’s votes, which was widely criticized for its lack of transparency and professionalism. Despite their efforts, the audit confirmed that Biden won Arizona, finding no substantial evidence of voter fraud. In fact, the Cyber Ninjas’ own report showed Biden gaining slightly more votes than previously counted, disproving claims of widespread fraud even after a partisan-led investigation. Remember Republicans promised you they would find voter fraud from illegal immigrants. Yet, despite the lack of any credible evidence, Arizona Republicans continued to pursue legislation putting up obstacles to vote for minorities based on their own audit’s findings.

VOTER ID LAWS DISENFRANCHISE SPECIFIC GROUPS

Voter ID laws are often justified by Republicans as safeguards against fraud, but in reality, they create significant barriers for specific groups, particularly minorities, low-income individuals, and young voters. These laws impose additional requirements that disproportionately affect those without easy access to state-issued IDs, effectively disenfranchising many voters who lean Democratic. The consequences are evident in reduced turnout and skewed representation, undermining the democratic process.

  • A 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that strict voter ID laws in states like Kansas and Tennessee reduced voter turnout by 2% to 3%, disproportionately impacting minority voters, young people, and low-income citizens—groups that often lean Democratic.
  • A widely cited Brennan Center report showed that 11% of Americans lack government-issued photo IDs, and the impact is racially discriminatory—25% of African-American voters lack an ID compared to 8% of white voters​. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect these dots to who African-Americans overwhelmingly vote for and who white Americans vote for.

CONSERVATIVE HISTORY OF VOTER SUPPRESSION

Voter suppression tactics aren’t new. Voter ID laws are a modern-day version of the old Jim Crow tricks by conservatives—creating obstacles where none are needed to rig the playing field in favor of one party.

  • Voter purges are framed by Republicans as a means of maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter rolls. However these purges disproportionately target minority voters and are often used to disenfranchise specific groups and the removal of eligible voters under the guise of preventing voter fraud. Ohio Republicans created a policy of removing voters from the rolls if they did not vote in two consecutive elections and failed to respond to a mailed notice. This policy disproportionately affected minority and low-income voters who may be less likely to vote in every election. In 2019, Texas attempted to purge nearly 100,000 voters, claiming they were non-citizens. It turned out that the majority of these individuals were, in fact, eligible citizens. In 2021, Wisconsin’s Election Commission faced pressure from conservative groups to purge over 200,000 voters, mainly from Democratic-leaning areas. These voters were flagged for possible removal based on undelivered mail, despite the fact that some may have simply changed addresses within the state. Every Republican in every state has tried to pass these laws to make sure Democrats have barriers to vote.
  • Georgia passed Senate Bill 202, signed by Governor Brian Kemp, which introduced a number of measures that were intentionally restrictive, such as reducing the number of ballot drop boxes, shortening absentee ballot request windows, and the very extreme rule allowing state officials to take over local election boards if the Republican Secretary of State didn’t like the outcome.
  • During the 2020 election, disinformation campaigns were actively targeted at Black voters through social media, aiming to confuse and discourage them from voting. These campaigns were designed to exploit distrust in the electoral process by spreading false information about voting locations, dates, and requirements. And Republican operatives initiated efforts to challenge voters’ eligibility in predominantly Black neighborhoods, threatening voters with legal action or financial penalties if their eligibility could not be verified. For example, in Georgia, voter suppression efforts included mass challenges to voter registrations in Black communities, which created confusion and fear over potential legal consequences.

CONCLUSION

It is a con. People are getting tricked into hating a non-existent problem and into distrusting their fellow citizens and immigrants—just so Republicans can tilt the scales in their favor. And honestly, it’s sad how easily some people are suckered by this.

We’re all smart enough, none of my friends are stupid, but the problem is Republicans have a very successful playbook developed decades before we were born and refined over our lifetime. It is very effective. In the end we should all demand real solutions and policies based on actual verifiable evidence—not distractions and deceit.