Politics, Policy, and Partisanship

On its face, the broad narrative of voting rights has been one of progressive enfranchisement. This is not the full story, however. The history of voting rights and electoral access in America has been characterized by both expansion and contraction, with periods of broad sweeping inclusive reforms followed by periods of restrictive backlashes. Even with the advances the United States has made since the founding, it is a mistake to consider today’s voter laws completely inclusive. To say that enfranchisement has reached all people equally is to disregard the numerous barriers to voting that still remain at the state and local level even for many eligible citizens....No policy has garnered as much attention as state voter photo identification (ID) laws.