The Politics and Law of Voter ID: Previewing the Supreme Court Arguments in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board

Questions about identification requirements for voting continue to inspire rancor from both sides of the aisle as policy-makers seek to prevent voter fraud and address concerns that such rules disenfranchise poor and minority voters. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments in two landmark cases on Indiana’s voter ID laws, Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita; the Court’s decision in these cases will have far-reaching effects for the 2008 election and beyond.

On January 7, two days before the Supreme Court arguments, the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project and the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a discussion previewing the arguments and exploring the legal issues underlying the cases. Thomas Mann, co-director of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project and Brookings senior fellow, moderated the panel. Panelists included Mike Carvin, partner at Jones Day; Wendy Weiser, deputy director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law; and Stuart Taylor, Jr., a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings and a writer for National Journal and Newsweek.