Hired security personnel wait for voters outside the Leon County Supervisor of Elections office on November 3, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
Nevada voters will decide in November whether to join three dozen other states in requiring voters to show valid identification before casting a ballot. And Maine may not be far behind, as the push for voter ID requirements grows nationwide despite conflicting research on their effects.
Conservative organizers in Nevada say they have collected enough signatures to qualify their measure for the general election. It would amend the state constitution to require voters to show identification at polling places or include some form of identification — such as the last four digits of a driver’s license or Social Security number — on mail-in ballots.
“We’ve seen over the last 20 years that there are questions about who voted and whether there were ballot tampering,” said David Gibbs, chairman of Repair the Vote PAC, a North Las Vegas-based group that’s leading the ballot initiative. “This is a way to address that. A lot of people are looking at it and it makes sense.”
If the measure goes to a vote in November and voters approve it, they would have to vote on it again in 2026, as is required to amend the state constitution.
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There’s a good chance it will pass. According to a June Fox News poll, 84% of registered voters in Nevada support implementing voter ID. Those findings closely mirror national polling from the Pew Research Center, which found in February that 81% of U.S. adults support requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote.
Voting rights advocates cite research showing that such rules keep many legitimate voters — especially young, black and Hispanic voters — from the ballot box. But advocates of voter ID laws point to other studies that suggest the rules have had minimal effect on turnout, in part because Democrats often respond by stepping up their voter mobilization efforts.
For more than a decade, Republican lawmakers have been pushing for stricter voter ID laws. Thirty-six states require some form of identification to vote, although laws vary by state in the types of identification accepted and requirements to vote by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
That list can grow.
In May, New Hampshire’s Republican-led Legislature passed a measure requiring residents to prove their citizenship status in order to register to vote. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu must still sign the measure into law.
In Maine, conservative activists are still collecting signatures to get their voter ID measure on the November 2025 ballot. Maine does not require photo ID at polling places, and Democratic lawmakers are trying to keep it that way, saying it could deter residents who are less likely to have driver’s licenses from voting.
Voting rights advocates say laws requiring ID could lead to confusion at polling places. States that implement such laws must do more to ensure that everyone has equal access to official identification documents.
“The more complicated we make voting, the more obstacles we put in front of people, the more pitfalls there are for people who are just trying to participate in our democracy,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, a progressive nonprofit organization committed to policy.
The Brennan Center, along with the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement and voting rights organizations Public Wise and VoteRiders, released a study in June showing that nearly 21 million voting-age Americans do not have a current driver’s license.
The survey also found that more than a quarter of Black and Latino adults do not have a driver’s license with their current name or address – more than their white and Asian American counterparts. A significantly higher percentage of young people also do not have current identification, the report said.
It takes time and money to get a new driver’s license, which can be more difficult for people of lower socioeconomic status, Morales-Doyle said. And those who earn less tend to change addresses often, he added.
The more complicated we make voting, the more hurdles we put in front of people, the more pitfalls there are for people just trying to participate in our democracy.
– Sean Morales-Doyle, Brennan Center for Justice
The survey also found a significant gap in voters’ understanding of voter ID laws, with more than half of Americans in states that require identification to vote unfamiliar with their state’s law. A March report from NBC News found that 29 million Americans live in states that have implemented a new voter ID law since 2020.
Recent elections in North Carolina and Ohio illustrate the impact: Confusion over voter ID rules led to rejected provisional ballots.
VoteRiders works to increase awareness and knowledge of voter ID requirements through on-the-ground efforts, a 24/7 helpline, and text, billboard and PSA outreach.
The group has organizers in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin who go to college campuses, LGBTQ+ Pride events, health centers and community fairs to provide information about those states’ voter ID laws. The group helps more than 10,000 people get IDs each year.
“One of the things that keeps me up at night is thinking about how dramatically the rules of the game have changed when it comes to voting since 2020,” said Lauren Kunis, the independent group’s CEO. “I worry that many people will be misled in November when it comes to ID and other aspects of the voting process.”
In Nevada, Repair the Vote PAC last week delivered more than 179,000 signatures, which it collected across the state using both volunteers and a company it hired to go door-to-door and stand outside grocery stores and libraries. The state needs more than 102,000 valid signatures, including a certain number in each congressional district. State and local officials must now validate those signatures.
Gibbs, the group’s president, said the new identification requirement would not create barriers to voting. He rejected the argument that voter ID measures make it harder for people of color or those with lower incomes to vote.
“You need a photo ID to get a job. To open a bank account you will need a photo ID. You need a photo ID for almost everything,” he told Stateline. “I personally don’t know anyone who doesn’t have one, but at the same time you can get one.”
This report was first published by Stateline, part of the nonprofit news network States Newsroom. It is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger with questions at info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X.
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