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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Have voter ID laws been found to decrease minority turnout?

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

Voter ID laws have been linked to lower rates of voter turnout among non-white groups.

A 2020 study of county turnout data from 2012 to 2016 found that "the gap in turnout between more racially diverse and less racially diverse counties grew more in states enacting new strict photo ID laws than it did elsewhere."

Certain voter ID laws have also been observed to be unequally applied: in 2006, Hispanic voters in New Mexico's First Congressional District were more likely to show identification than non-Hispanic voters.

Twenty states require voters to show a form of photo ID, which white people carry at higher rates than non-white people. An additional 14 states require non-photo ID. Some states accept forms of ID held more frequently by white people while rejecting forms held more frequently by non-white groups, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Politics, Groups and Identities A disproportionate burden: strict voter identification laws and minority turnout

California Institute of Technology New barriers to participation: Application of New Mexico's voter identification law

Ballotpedia Voter identification laws by state

Project Vote Americans with photo ID: A breakdown of demographic characteristics

American Civil Liberties Union Oppose voter ID legislation fact sheet

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.