Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID

NYT reported States that imposed identification requirements on voters reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new research suggests.

I wonder what the results were in Chicago, the "vote early and often" city.

The study, prepared by scholars at Rutgers and Ohio State Universities for the federal Election Assistance Commission, supports concerns among voting-rights advocates that blacks and Hispanics could be disproportionately affected by ID requirements.

Do they not have ID cards? How do they cash a check, rent videos at Blockbuster, or get on an airplane? Voter ID would actually help them if the state made them available for free or for very low charge.

But federal officials say more research is needed to draw firmer conclusions about the effects on future elections.