Thirty-two states — a figure that has been steadily rising — now have some form of voter ID laws, based on a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The number of states with the strictest laws is rising as well: Voters in seven states will be required to show photo identification in order to cast their ballots this year. In 2012, only four states required it.

Voter ID laws by state

No ID

required

ID

requested

ID

required

Photo ID

required

Wash.

Me.

Mont.

N.D.

Minn.

Ore.

Vt.

N.H.

N.Y.

Idaho

Wis.

Mass.

S.D.

Mich.

Wyo.

R.I.

Conn.

Pa.

Iowa

N.J.

Neb.

Nev.

Md.

Ohio

Del.

Ill.

Ind.

Utah

W.Va.

Colo.

Va.

Calif.

Kan.

Mo.

Ky.

N.C.

Tenn.

Okla.

Ariz.

N.M.

Ark.

S.C.

Ala.

Ga.

Miss.

La.

Tex.

Alaska

Fla.

Hawaii

Voter ID laws by state

No ID

required

ID

requested

ID

required

Photo ID

required

Wash.

Me.

Mont.

N.D.

Minn.

Ore.

Vt.

N.H.

N.Y.

Wis.

Idaho

S.D.

Mass.

Mich.

Wyo.

R.I.

Conn.

Pa.

Iowa

N.J.

Neb.

Nev.

Md.

Ohio

Ill.

Del.

Ind.

Utah

W.Va.

Colo.

Va.

Calif.

Kan.

Mo.

Ky.

N.C.

Tenn.

Okla.

Ariz.

N.M.

Ark.

S.C.

Ga.

Ala.

Miss.

La.

Tex.

Alaska

Fla.

Hawaii

Voter ID laws by state

No ID

required

ID

requested

ID

required

Photo ID

required

Wash.

Mont.

N.D.

N.H.

Idaho

Wis.

S.D.

Mich.

R.I.

Conn.

Ohio

Del.

Ind.

Utah

Colo.

Va.

Kan.

Mo.

Ky.

Tenn.

Okla.

Ariz.

Ark.

S.C.

Ala.

Ga.

Miss.

La.

Tex.

Alaska

Fla.

Hawaii

WI

OH

IN

VA

KS

TN

AZ

GA

MS

Voter ID laws by state

No ID

required

ID

requested

ID

required

Photo ID

required

Note: States that request IDs (both photo and nonphoto) allow a voter to cast a ballot without identification, and officials will verify the voter’s identity in other ways.

A 2002 federal law set minimum requirements for federal elections, including identity verification for all new voters. The law leaves room for states to enact their own stricter ones.

“There has been movement toward more voter ID laws, and toward stricter voter ID laws,” said Wendy Underhill, program director for elections and redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Several of these laws have been challenged in court. In July, a federal appeals court found that the Texas voter ID law discriminated against blacks and Latinos and ordered the state to assist people who did not have one of the seven valid forms of identification. A North Carolina law, which was set to take effect this year, was struck down along with several other voting procedures.

But in 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s photo ID requirement.

“Court challenges have gone in both directions,” Ms. Underhill said. “They haven’t all been either to undo voter ID or to support it.”

Recently challenged laws

State Status Details
North Carolina N.C. Not in effect A federal court found that various voting provisions in the state were passed with "discriminatory intent." MORE »
Texas Tex. Weakened A strict photo ID law was found to violate the Voting Rights Act. It was subsequently weakened. MORE »
Wisconsin Wis. Still in effect A federal appeals court blocked a ruling that weakened the law by requiring an affidavit option. MORE »
North Dakota N.D. Weakened A federal judge ruled that the state could not enforce its new strict law, and required the state to return to previous guidelines. MORE »
Arkansas Ark. Weakened The state Supreme Court struck down a strict photo ID law, saying that it violated the state's Constitution. The previous, weaker law remains. MORE »
Pennsylvania Pa. Not in effect A new photo ID law was struck down by a state judge, who said it put a burden on voters. MORE »

States with the strictest laws require IDs that some voters may not have.

Most states request ID but will allow returning voters to cast ballots even if they do not have a required form of identification. Election officials do the work of confirming their identities. In Florida, for example, a voter without proper identification can cast a provisional ballot, and officials will verify the signatures with one on file.

But in nine states with so-called strict laws, voters must provide their ID shortly after Election Day for their ballots to be counted. Seven of those states require a photo ID, like an in-state driver’s license, a United States passport or a military ID, but the acceptable forms vary by state. The other two — Arizona and Ohio — accept certain documents without photos.

Other IDs accepted by states with strict photo ID laws

State Gun license Student ID Tribal ID Out-of-state driver’s license
Georgia Ga.        
Indiana Ind.        
Kansas Kan.        
Mississippi Miss.        
Tennessee Tenn.        
Virginia Va.        
Wisconsin Wis.        
Note: Each state has specific requirements for what types of IDs will be accepted, and they must meet the state’s overall criteria.

Opponents of the strict photo ID laws argue that they disproportionately affect minorities, low-income voters and students. Obtaining the correct ID can require money and transportation to a state Department of Motor Vehicles branch or a local government office, resources that some voters may not have.

“There’s definitely the issue of your flexibility,” said Jennifer L. Clark, counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “And there’s the issue of whether, in your everyday life, you’ve found it necessary to have one of these limited number of IDs.”

The states with strict photo ID laws (and other states as well) offer free IDs for the purpose of voting. “Some will argue that the ID is free,” Ms. Underhill said in an email, “but that the voter still has to get the underlying documents, such as a birth certificate, so it won’t be free in practice.”

The number of states with voter ID laws is rising.

States with voter ID laws

Requesting ID

Requiring ID

30

25

20

15

10

5

’00

’04

’08

’12

’16

Stricter laws came into play in 2006 when Arizona and Ohio began requiring voters to show identification. Georgia and Indiana followed in 2008 with the first strict photo identification laws. After the 2010 midterm elections, when Republicans won control of many state legislatures, more states passed new voter ID laws and strengthened existing ones.

Some states have made voting harder in other ways.

States have also rolled back practices that were put in place to make voting easier. Since 2010, early voting, an option in most states, has been reduced in Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. North Carolina also voted to reduce early voting hours, but the law was struck down by a federal appeals court.

Note: In certain states, particular groups of people may be exempt from general voter ID requirements. Those groups include domestic abuse victims, voters who object to being photographed for religious reasons, indigent voters, and people who do not have an ID because of a natural disaster.