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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Crawford v. Marion County Election Board
Citation:
553 U.S. 181 (2008)Facts
In 2005, Indiana enacted a voter identification law (SEA 483) requiring citizens voting in person to present government-issued photo identification. The law exempted absentee voters and residents of state-licensed facilities (like nursing homes). Voters with religious objections to being photographed or who were indigent could cast provisional ballots, but had to travel to the county clerk’s office within 10 days after the election and execute an affidavit for their votes to count. The state offered free photo identification to qualified voters who could establish their residence and identity. The plaintiffs challenged the law as an undue burden on the right to vote, particularly for elderly, poor, disabled, and minority voters who were less likely to possess the required identification. The state defended the law as necessary to prevent voter fraud, modernize election procedures, address problems with bloated voter rolls, and safeguard public confidence in the electoral process. The record contained no evidence of in-person voter impersonation fraud in Indiana’s history.
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