75 Percent of Americans Support Voter ID Laws: Poll

A man checks the ID of a voter before giving them a ballot at an early voting location in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sept. 18, 2020.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Rasmussen Reports released a new poll on Wednesday showing that 75 percent of Americans support voter ID laws, including 60 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans.

The poll found that three out of four likely American voters believe a photo ID should be required—such as a driver’s license—before being allowed to vote. A majority of unaffiliated voters, 77 percent, also voiced support for voter ID requirements.

Support for voter ID laws across ethnicities remained high: 74 percent of whites, 69 percent of blacks, and 82 percent of other minorities said they were in support of requiring voter ID.

Support for voter ID requirements has mostly run in the mid-to-high 70s in surveys since 2006, according to Rasmussen. This year’s 75 percent support is higher than the 67 percent in 2018 and 70 percent in 2017, but lower than the 82 percent support seen in 2010.

The survey also asked participants whether they believe voter ID laws discriminate against some voters. Leftists have been claiming that voter ID laws and other voter restrictions discriminate against minorities.

According to the survey, 60 percent of Americans said that voter ID laws don’t discriminate, while 31 percent say such laws discriminate, with 10 percent saying they are not sure.

Democrats made up the most of the group concerned about minority discrimination, with 51 percent saying such requirements are discriminatory. Meanwhile, 79 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of unaffiliated voters said that requiring identification at the polls is not discriminatory.

Rasmussen Reports conducted the national telephone and online survey of 1,000 likely voters on March 14 and 15. The sampling error margin is 3 percentage points above or below with a 95 percent level of confidence, according to the poll.

The poll was conducted as H.R. 1 passed the Democrat-controlled House and headed to the Senate for consideration.

H.R. 1, which has been dubbed by Democrats as the For The People Act of 2021 (pdf), permits the “use of sworn written statement to meet identification requirements.” States would no longer be allowed to require ID for voting and would be forced to accept signed statements from individuals claiming to be who they say they are.

Democrats have framed the bill as a crucial step against voter suppression.

“Our democracy is in a state of deep disrepair,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after re-introducing the bill in January. “During the 2020 election, Americans had to overcome rampant voter suppression, gerrymandering, and a torrent of special interest dark money just to exercise their right to vote.”

Hans von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commissioner and currently a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Epoch Times last week that voter suppression argument is “a ridiculous claim.”

Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, at an immigration event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Oct. 17, 2017. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

“There’s no voter suppression going on. In fact, we have seen turnout in U.S. elections consistently go up in the last few elections that we’ve had, while the states have been doing things like putting in voter ID laws.”

Public intellectual Dinesh D’Souza, an author and filmmaker, has criticized the Democrat argument that ID requirements suppress voters.

“Requiring an ID for airline travel doesn’t “suppress travel.” Nor do ID requirements for marriage licenses “suppress marriage.” So why does the Left insist ID requirements for voting “suppress the vote?” D'Souza challenged on Twitter.

Democrats are pushing for removing or reforming the filibuster to pass H.R. 1 in the Senate because the filibuster currently requires 60 votes to pass legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatened that if Democrats eliminate the filibuster, Republicans will fight back, and the Senate would be like “a 100-car pileup” with “nothing moving.”

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.