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Friend,

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
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andGeorgia.
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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 about76,000 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.
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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 than291,000
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.
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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%, orover 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, orover 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 thatthousands 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!
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We havestate-by-state resources
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and also resource centers for folks who face disproportionate voter ID
barriers:student voters,
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trans and nonbinary voters,
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naturalized citizens,
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Tribal voters,
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andvoters with disabilities.
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→ Join our volunteer event TOMORROW, October 24,
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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!
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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.
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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 & Executive Director
VoteRiders

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


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VoteRiders,