Dear John,

As we sprint toward Election Day, I want to share VoteRiders’ newest research into the impact of voter ID laws in two battleground states: Texas and Georgia. Both of these states had voter ID laws in 2020, and both states moved to make them even stricter in 2021 – making this the first general election in which the new laws’ full effects may be felt. 

This research is critically important to understanding who can vote on Election Day, and what barriers voters face in casting their ballot either in person or by mail. For example, we find that about 76,000 Georgian adult citizens do not have any of the documents they need to vote in Georgia under the state’s current voter ID law. The margin of victory in Georgia in 2020 was just 9,995 votes, and polls currently show Georgia in a statistical tie. In other words, the 76,000 eligible voters who do not have an accepted form of ID to vote could decide the outcome in Georgia if they were all able to obtain an ID and cast their ballots.

In addition to highlighting the barriers voter ID laws present to otherwise eligible voters, these findings point to the enormous amount of confusion among voters about these laws. In Georgia, 98% of Georgians do not know all the core requirements of the voter ID law in their state. In Texas, that number is 99%! This means that voters who actually do have the ID they need to vote might stay home, believing they do not have an accepted form of ID.

This email will be a little longer than what I usually write to you but I want to go over some of the most important and eye-popping findings with you, so please read to the end. 

Who is impacted in Texas

To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first survey of voting-eligible Texans with questions specific to the exact provisions of the Texas voter ID law. Our findings reveal a large disparity in who has the ID and information they need to vote — especially among young voters, Black voters, and Hispanic voters.

• About 252,00 adult citizens in Texas do not have any of the forms of ID that they need to vote a regular ballot. There is a process for potentially voting without those documents, called a reasonable impediment declaration, but 90% of Texans have never heard of this process.
• 18-29 year old Texans are five times more likely to lack any of the primary documents needed to vote than their older peers, with 5% not having any of the documents needed to vote compared to 1% of those age 30 or older. 
• 92% of Texans have a Texas driver’s license with a qualifying expiration date that they can use to vote, but there are clear disparities by race, age, and income. While 94% of White Texans possess a Texas driver’s license that they can use to vote, 86% of Black Texans, and 89% of Hispanic Texans have the same. 19% of 18-29-year-olds cannot use a license to vote in Texas (compared to 5% of those aged 30 and up). One quarter of Texans who earn less than $30,000 do not have a license that they can use to vote (25%).
• 56% of Texans have a US passport or US passport card that they can use to vote. 
• Over 1.5 million Texans possess military IDs that they cannot use to vote this fall because their ID expired before October 20, 2020 and they are under 70-years-old. 
• Unlike many other states with voter ID laws, Texas does not allow voters to use out-of-state ID to vote, even though the purpose of the voter ID law is to verify a voter’s identity and not residency. We estimate that more than 291,000 Texans possess a driver’s license from another state that they cannot use for voting purposes in Texas. Nearly 144,000 Texans have a state ID card from another state that they cannot use for voting in Texas.

The survey indicates that 13% of Texans might have a potential difficulty at the polls based on their current ID. This includes those that have neither a Texas driver’s license nor a Texas state ID card that can be used for voting (2%), have a Texas state ID card that has a different name and/or address (1%), have a Texas license and Texas state ID card but both have a different name and/or address (2%), or have a Texas license with a different name and/or address (8%).

In addition to these barriers, our research finds that 99% of Texas residents do not fully know the voter ID law in their state.

Over 5 million Texans (27%) do not know any of the key provisions of their state’s voter ID law. A quarter only know that they must show ID to vote, and no other details about the voter ID law. Less than half (45%) know that they must show an ID to vote and it must be a photo ID.

Who is impacted in Georgia

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey of voting eligible Georgians with questions specific to the exact provisions of the Georgia voter ID law. Our findings reveal a large disparity in who has the ID and information they need to vote — especially among young voters, Black voters, and Hispanic voters.

• About 76,000 adult citizens in Georgia do not have any documents they need to vote in Georgia.
• 18-29 year old Georgians are three times more likely to lack any of the primary documents needed to vote than their older peers, with 3% not having any of the documents needed to vote compared to 1% of those age 30 or older. 
• While 96% of Georgians have a current or expired driver’s license that would be accepted as voter ID, 4%, or over 326,000 Georgians, do not. Nearly 308,000 Georgians do not have a driver’s license at all.
• 7% of Black Georgians and 7% of Hispanic Georgians do not have a driver’s license that would be accepted for voting, compared to 2% of White Georgians.
• Overall, over 195,000 Georgians (3%) do not have a driver’s license or state ID card that can be used for voting. For 18-29-year-olds without an acceptable license for voting, 64% do not have a current state ID compared to 46% of those 30 and older.
• Fewer than half (46%) of Georgia residents have a current US passport or US passport card. 
• Georgia’s prohibition of expired military ID leaves 12% of Georgia residents, or over 881,000 people, unable to use their military ID to vote. 

The survey indicates that 11% of Georgians might have a potential difficulty at the polls due to lack of ID or a name and/or address mismatch. This includes those who have neither a driver’s license nor state ID card that can be used for voting (3%), have a license and state ID card but both have a different name and/or address (3%), and have a license but it has a different name and/or address (5%).

In addition to these barriers, our research finds that 98% of Georgia residents do not fully know the voter ID law in their state.

Over 1.7 million Georgians, or 23%, do not know a single major provision of the Georgia voter ID law. 22% know that ID is required for voting in-person, but do not know any of the other major components of the law. The majority know that ID is required for voting in-person and it must be a photo ID (51%).

What does it all mean?

Taken together, these findings show how restrictive voter ID laws create barriers that many voters struggle to overcome, and how new and changing voter ID laws confuse and intimidate eligible voters. Those barriers fall disproportionately on young voters, as well Black and Hispanic voters, and low-income voters.

As we enter the homestretch of a presidential election that is statistically tied according to the polls, every voter should be able to participate on Election Day if they choose. But this research demonstrates that thousands of voters may be turned away on Election Day or stay home altogether because they don’t have, or don’t know that they have, an accepted form of voter ID. These voters could very well decide the outcome of the presidential election.

What can you do about it?

There are still 13 days until voting ends. And that means there is still time to reach voters who don’t have an accepted form of voter ID, or who are confused about voter ID laws and need more information in order to vote.

→ Share VoteRiders’ Voter ID resources with everyone you know! We have state-by-state resources and also resource centers for folks who face disproportionate voter ID barriers: student voters, trans and nonbinary voters, naturalized citizens, Tribal voters, and voters with disabilities.

→ Join our volunteer event TOMORROW, October 24, at 7pm ET! We’re texting voters in Georgia and Wisconsin with critical information they need about their state’s voter ID laws.

→ Donate to our voter outreach efforts! Help us pay for billboards, bus ads, digital ads, direct voter outreach, and one-on-one help for voters who need ID. All donations are still being matched for 13 more days, so your gift will be doubled.

Want to learn more?

These state-specific studies are an extension of national-level data that VoteRiders previously released in partnership with the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) at the University of Maryland, the Brennan Center for Justice, and Public Wise, entitled, Who Lacks ID in America Today? An Exploration of Voter ID Access, Barriers, and Knowledge.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I think it’s important that you have the full picture of the kinds of barriers and confusion created by voter ID laws.

I’m so grateful for your support of VoteRiders. Thanks to you, we’ve already been able to reach millions of voters with critical information and free ID help — and we’re still going strong. 

Sincerely,

Lauren Kunis
CEO and Executive Director
VoteRiders

Follow @VoteRiders

VoteRiders is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization registered in the US under EIN 45-5081831.

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