S-4155-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Sponsored by Jon Husted (R-OH)
What it does
This bill would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters to present a valid photo ID as a condition of casting a ballot in federal elections. Accepted forms of ID would include state-issued driver's licenses, state ID cards, U.S. passports, military IDs, and tribal government-issued IDs. Voters without ID could cast a provisional ballot but would have 3 days after the election to present valid ID or a religious-objection affidavit for it to count. For mail and absentee voters, a copy of a valid photo ID or the last four digits of a Social Security number plus an affidavit of inability to obtain ID would be required. The bill also directs state and local governments to provide free public access to digital imaging devices (scanners, copiers, printers) at government buildings so voters can copy their IDs at no cost.
Who benefits
Voters who already possess qualifying photo ID and would face no additional burden. Election administrators who argue uniform ID standards reduce the risk of in-person voter impersonation. States that already have photo ID laws, which would see their existing requirements codified at the federal level. Tribal members, whose government-issued IDs are explicitly recognized as valid. Military personnel and overseas citizens, who are explicitly exempted from the absentee ID requirement.
Who is hurt
Registered voters who lack qualifying photo ID — estimates from the Brennan Center and Government Accountability Office suggest this could include 11–25 million Americans, disproportionately including low-income individuals, elderly people, racial minorities, young voters, and people with disabilities. States with no existing photo ID requirement would face new administrative and compliance costs. Election officials in those states would need to implement new systems on short notice. Voters in rural or underserved areas may face difficulty accessing government buildings with free imaging devices. Voters with religious objections to photography face an additional affidavit step not required of other voters.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that photo ID requirements are a widely accepted, common-sense safeguard that 35 states already use in some form, and that a 2023 Monmouth University poll found roughly 80% of Americans support the concept. They contend that requiring ID to vote — just as it is required to board a plane, open a bank account, or purchase alcohol — protects the integrity of elections and ensures that each legitimate vote is counted once. They further argue the bill's accommodations, including provisional ballots, religious-objection affidavits, and free access to ID-copying equipment, meaningfully reduce barriers for voters who lack ID.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that documented cases of in-person voter impersonation — the specific fraud photo ID prevents — are exceedingly rare, with a 2017 Brennan Center study finding fraud rates of 0.0001%, meaning the law imposes real costs on millions of legitimate voters to address a near-nonexistent problem. They contend that the 11–25 million Americans who lack qualifying photo ID are disproportionately low-income, elderly, and minority voters, and that the bill's accommodations — a 3-day post-election window and affidavit process — create procedural hurdles that will result in uncounted ballots, effectively functioning as a barrier to the franchise for the most vulnerable voters.