Voter ID laws in the United States

Table columns:
State
Original Date Enacted
Type of Law
Key Dates and Notes

Table rows:
cells: Alabama
2014
Photo ID (non-strict)
Law tightened in 2011 to require photo ID as of 2014,[139][140] but it had not obtained federal preclearance.[141] Following the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, (2013), suspending the provision for pre-clearance, the state attorney general believed the voter ID law could be implemented in 2014.[142] The state of Alabama issues free voter ID cards to voters who need them.[143] These photo IDs are issued by driver license bureaus. The state closed driver license bureaus in eight of the ten counties with the highest percentages of nonwhite voters, and in every county in which blacks made up more than 75 percent of registered voters.[144] However, the Board of Registrars' offices were kept open in all counties, and mobile ID locations remain active.[145] Two election officials can sign sworn statements saying they know the voter as an alternative to showing a photo ID.
cells: Alaska
Non Photo ID required (non-strict)
A Photo ID law was drafted by Rep. Bob Lynn; it was referred to the State Affairs and Judiciary Committees on January 7, 2013.[146][147]
cells: Arizona
2004
Strict Non Photo ID
Non-photographic forms of ID are accepted at polling places as of 2013[148]
cells: Arkansas
2013
Non Photo ID required (non-strict)
Photo ID bill passed by lawmakers in 2013, and survived a veto by the Governor to become Act 595 of 2013. On May 2, 2014, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled Act 595 unconstitutional, but stayed his ruling pending an appeal.[149] The week before early voting began for the 2014 midterm elections, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed Judge Fox's decision declaring Arkansas Act 595 of 2013 to be unconstitutional on its face.[150]
cells: California
No ID required
In most cases, California voters are not required to show identification before they cast ballots.[151]
cells: Colorado
2003
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
Non-photographic forms of ID allowed at polling places as of 2013.[152]
cells: Connecticut
Non Photo ID required (non-strict)
Non-photographic forms of ID allowed at polling places.[153]
cells: Delaware
Non Photo ID required (non-strict)
Non-photographic forms of ID allowed at polling places as of 2013.[154]
cells: Florida
1977
Photo ID (non-strict)
Photo ID required when voting in person.[155]
cells: Georgia
1977
Strict Photo ID
Existing law tightened in 2005 to require a photo ID; in 2006, passed a law providing for the issuance of voter ID cards on request at no cost to registered voters who do not have a driver's license or state-issued ID card. Photo ID was required to vote in the 2012 elections.[156]
cells: Hawaii
1978
Photo ID (non-strict)
Photo ID required when voting in person.[137][157]
cells: Idaho
2010
Photo ID (non-strict)
Voters may sign a Personal Identification Affidavit if they do not possess a Photo ID at the polls.[158]
cells: Illinois
No ID required
Republican Senators authoring a bill for Photo ID.[159]
cells: Indiana
2005
Strict Photo ID
Photo ID required when voting in person, enacted in 2008 after Supreme Court clearance.[160] The Indiana law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.
cells: Iowa
2017
ID required
(During calendar year 2018 voters will be asked to show their ID before voting at the polls. Anyone who does not have the necessary ID will be asked to sign an oath verifying their identity, and will be allowed to cast a regular ballot.)(Beginning January 1, 2019, Iowa voters will be required to show a driver’s license, non-driver’s ID, passport, military ID, veterans ID, or Voter ID Card at the polls before they vote.)</https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterIDfaq.html>
cells: Kansas
2011
Strict Photo ID
Photo ID required for in person voting; registration requires proof of citizenship, i.e., passport, birth certificate.[161] The state suggested that federal registration ID could be used only for federal elections, and voters would need proof of citizenship for local and state elections. In July 2016 a federal court struck this down, and said the state had to allow more forms of ID for voting in November 2016.[citation needed]
cells: Kentucky
Non Photo ID required (non-strict)
A citizen may vote if they have Photo ID, or if a precinct officer can vouch for the voter.[162]
cells: Louisiana
Photo ID (non-strict)
Voters may also use non-photographic identification at the polling place.[163]
cells: Maine
No ID required
No ID needed at polling place if registered to vote at least one day prior to election. However an ID is required to vote if person was registered to vote on the day of the election [164]
cells: Maryland
2013
No ID required
Republicans sponsored a House Bill requiring Photo ID in 2013.[165]
cells: Massachusetts
No ID required
Non-photographic ID is accepted at polling stations.[166]
cells: Michigan
Photo ID (non-strict)
Passed in 1996, but ruled invalid until a State Supreme Court ruling in 2007. Voters are requested to show photo ID or sign a statement saying they do not have valid ID in their possession at the time. Either way, the voter will not be turned away.[167]
cells: Minnesota
No ID required
Non-photographic ID is accepted at polling stations.[168]
cells: Mississippi
2011
Strict Photo ID
Governor signed Photo ID bill into law in 2012. The bill was required to go through Pre-Clearance check from the federal government.[169] The US Supreme Court ruling in Shelby v. Holder (2013) suspended this provision. Mississippi was expected to enact its new Photo ID requirement in 2014.[170]
cells: Missouri
2002
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
In 2006, the existing law was tightened to require photo ID. In 2006, State Supreme Court blocks law. In 2013, State House passes Voter ID law, needing approval by both State Senate and voters in November 2014 elections.[171] State House passes an additional version of Photo ID law in 2016. State Senate passes Photo ID law in 2016. Vote held to amend the state constitution in regards to Photo ID requirement in summer of 2016, resulting in Photo ID law being enacted.[172]
cells: Montana
2003
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
Montana Voter ID Bill tabled in committee in 2013 by both Republicans and Democrats. Voter impersonation fraud was not substantiated as a problem in the state.[173]
cells: Nebraska
No ID required
Following Shelby v. Holder, lawmakers were revisiting a Photo ID bill in 2013.[174]
cells: Nevada
No ID required
Secretary of State sponsors a bill for Photo ID in 2012.[175]
cells: New Hampshire
2015
Photo ID (non-strict)
Voters may sign an affidavit and have their photograph taken in lieu of showing a photo ID. (Voters who object to having their photo taken for religious reasons may sign an additional religious affidavit in lieu of the photograph.)
cells: New Jersey
No ID required
Non-photographic forms of ID are accepted at the polls.[176]
cells: New Mexico
2008
No ID required
In 2008, the existing voter ID law was relaxed, and now allows a voter to satisfy the ID requirement by stating his/her name, address as registered, and year of birth.[citation needed]
cells: New York
No ID required
Non-photographic ID accepted at polling stations[177]
cells: North Carolina
2013
No ID required
In 2013, the state House passed a bill that requires voters to show a photo ID issued by North Carolina, a passport, or a military identification card when they go to the polls by 2016. Out-of-state drivers licenses are accepted only if the voter registered within 90 days of the election, and university photo identification is never acceptable.[178] In July 2016, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a trial court decision in a number of consolidated actions and struck down the law's photo ID requirement, finding that the new voting provisions targeted African Americans "with almost surgical precision," and that the legislators had acted with clear "discriminatory intent" in enacting strict election rules, shaping the rules based on data they received about African-American registration and voting patterns.[179][180][181][182] The U.S. Supreme Court let this decision stand without review in May 2017.[183][184][185]
cells: North Dakota
2003
Strict Non-Photo ID
ND Senate passes bill that would require Photo identification OR a person with Photo ID to vouch for a voter without ID. 2003 law amended in 2013, and moved to a strict non-photo requirement.[186] On August 1, 2016, a federal judge blocked the law, citing "undisputed evidence ... that Native Americans face substantial and disproportionate burdens in obtaining each form of ID deemed acceptable".[7] Specifically, the state had said that tribal cards without street addresses of the resident were unacceptable, but many Native Americans use post office boxes and do not have street addresses on reservations.
cells: Oklahoma
2009
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
Oklahoma voters approved a voter Photo ID proposal proposed by the Legislature in 2010. The only non-photo form of ID accepted at the polls is the voter's registration card.[187]
cells: Ohio
2006
Strict Non-Photo ID
Non-photographic forms of ID are accepted at polling stations.[188] With strong Republican majorities in Ohio House and Senate, the Photo ID bill was expected to be revisited following the ruling in Shelby v. Holder (2013).[189] The legislature rescinded the practice of a "Golden Week," during which voters could both register and vote early. In July 2016 the court ruled that this change put an undue burden on African-American voters, as the state had not proved justification through documented instances of fraud.
cells: Oregon
Mail Ballots Only
Oregon has no polling stations, and ballots are mailed in. Non-photographic forms of ID are accepted for voting registration. Information required on voting ballots, such as the last 4 digits of one's Social Security Number or Drivers License Number, could not be referenced.[190]
cells: Pennsylvania
No ID required
Law struck down by Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard L. McGinley on January 17, 2014 as "violative of the constitutional rights of state voters" after first full evidentiary trial since Shelby v Holder (2013). The law was found, by preponderance of evidence, to place undue burden on hundreds of thousands of already registered voters due to a lack of infrastructure and state support for obtaining required IDs.[39][191]
cells: Rhode Island
2014
Photo ID (non-strict)
RI requires Photo ID at the polls in 2014.[192]
cells: South Carolina
1988
Photo ID (non-strict)
Law tightened in 2011.[139] U.S. Justice Department rejected South Carolina's law as placing an undue burden disproportionately on minority voters.[36] On October 10, 2012, the U.S. District Court upheld South Carolina's Voter ID law, though the law won't take effect till 2013.[193][194] As of January 2016, a photo ID is requested, but a voter registration card will be accepted if there is a "reasonable impediment" in possessing a photo ID.[195]
cells: South Dakota
2003
Photo ID (non-strict)
If a voter does not possess a photo ID at the polling place, then the voter may complete an affidavit of personal identification.[196]
cells: Tennessee
2011
Strict Photo ID
Law tightened in 2011.[139] Tennessee voters were required to show Photo ID during the 2012 elections.[197]
cells: Texas
1990
Strict Photo ID
Law tightened in 2011.[139] U.S. Justice Department rejected the Texas law as placing an undue burden disproportionately on minority voters.[198] The 2013 US Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) suspended the provision for pre-clearance absent an updated model.[199] On October 9, 2014, a U.S. District Judge struck down the law.[200] On October 14, 2014, a panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction against the ruling of the District Court, which was confirmed 6-3 by the U.S. Supreme Court on October 18; it sent the law back to the lower courts. Therefore, the state will implement this law for the 2014 elections.[201] On August 5, 2015, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found the law to violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and sent it back to the U.S. District Court.[202] In July 2016, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found the law discriminatory against minorities and ordered the lower court to come up with a fix before the November 2016 elections.[203] In February 2017, the Department of Justice's Jeff Sessions dropped the lawsuit against the 2011 voter ID legislation.[204]
cells: Utah
2009
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
Non-photographic forms of ID are accepted at polling stations.[205]
cells: Vermont
No ID required
No ID required to vote at polling stations.[206]
cells: Virginia
1996
Strict Photo ID
Lawmakers pass Voter ID bill in 2010, and the then Governor implements it in a way that allows non-photo ID. After the 2012 election, the Virginia legislature passed a new law stipulating that non-photo IDs cannot be used. The governor signed a law to require photo IDs in 2013. The law would have needed to pass "pre-clearance" by the U.S. Department of Justice under the 1965 Voting Rights Act (certain states and jurisdictions, mostly in Southern states were required to wait for pre-clearance before changing voting laws).[207] U.S. Supreme Court Voting Rights Act ruling on June 26 removed section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, clearing the way for Virginia to enact the new Photo ID requirement in 2014.[208]
cells: Washington
2005
Non-Photo ID required (non-strict)
Washington has no polling stations. Ballots are mailed in.[209]
cells: West Virginia
No ID required
Republicans were preparing a Photo ID bill in 2013.[210]
cells: Wisconsin
2011
Strict Photo ID
Following two 2012 rulings by Dane County circuit judges that blocked implementation of the 2011 Wisconsin Act 23 law requiring Voter ID, on July 31, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the law.[211] On September 12, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to be put into effect 54 days before the 2014 elections, overturning a previous ruling in federal court.[212] On October 9, 2014, the state was barred from implementing the Voter ID law for 2014 by the U.S. Supreme Court.[213][214] On March 23, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the ACLU against Wisconsin's voter ID law, effectively upholding the 7th Circuit's ruling that it is constitutional.[37] The law went into effect with the local/state primary vote on February 16, 2016.[215] The 7th District remanded the case back to Judge Adelman of the federal Eastern District of Wisconsin for further proceedings. He gathered evidence as to the burden of the law. In July 2016 he issued an injunction against the voter ID law, "ruling citizens without an official ID may still cast ballots after signing an affidavit affirming their identity." This ruling will prevail in the November 2016 election.[216]
cells: Wyoming
No ID required
No ID needed at polling stations.[217]
cells: Washington, D.C.
No ID required
No ID needed at polling stations.[218]

Questions about this table:
originalText: what documents do i need to vote in georgia
answer: answerTexts: Photo ID