Jim Hartman: Question 7, requiring voter ID

State Question 7 on the ballot in November is an initiative that would amend the Nevada Constitution to require all in-person voters present a valid photo identification before voting.

Question 7 lists eight approved forms of government-issued IDs, including driver’s licenses, passports, student and tribal photo identification. It also allows the Nevada Legislature to approve additional acceptable government -issued IDs.

In addition, Question 7 would require voters using a mail ballot to list the last four digits of their Nevada driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number – alongside their signature.

Because Question 7 is a voter initiative, it will need voter approval twice. If it passes in November, the question will be placed on the 2026 general election ballot for final approval.

Thirty-six states have some form of voter ID law with no major complaints. Nevada is one of only 14 states to not require a form of identification while voting, and instead relies on a voter signature to verify voter identity.

The U.S. is an outlier among the world’s democracies in not requiring voter ID. Of the 47 countries in Europe today, all 47 of them now require government-issued photos to vote.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Crawford vs. Marion County Election Board (2008), held that an Indiana law requiring voters to provide photographic identification did not violate the U.S. Constitution.

Requiring voter ID is a common sense reform that may help restore voter confidence and make elections in Nevada more secure.

Whether it’s picking up a prescription, seeing a doctor, driving a car, flying on a plane, cashing a check, applying for a job, photo ID is required.

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo made voter ID a centerpiece of his State of the State message in 2023. Democrats in the Legislature refused to even give it a hearing.

Question 7 is sponsored by “Repair the Vote,” a political action committee aligned with Lombardo.

In July, the initiative qualified for the November ballot after election officials verified 131,590 valid signatures and it passed the threshold of signatures needed from each of the state’s four congressional districts (25,591).

Polls consistently show overwhelming support for voter ID.

A survey conducted by Pew Research in February found 81% of Americans back requiring photo ID to vote, including 95% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats.

Earlier polls done by Gallup and Monmouth in 2021 also measured 80% and 81% support for voter ID.

A Nevada Independent poll last year reported 74% of Nevada registered voters across all demographic groups support a voter ID requirement: 62% of Democrats, 93% of Republicans and 68% of independents/non-partisans.

In 2005, the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, co-chaired by former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker III, a Republican, recommended voter photo ID.

Other Democrats on the commission, including former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, joined in making what seemed at the time to be a common sense proposal.

The Carter-Baker commission was also concerned with mail-in voting. With loose mail-in voting rules, ballots are mailed out to all voters. That almost invites voter fraud.

Nineteen years ago, Democrats were strong supporters of voter ID laws.

Times have changed. Many activist Democrats now resist voter ID as racist voter suppression. Opponents claim it could disenfranchise people who don’t have an acceptable form of ID.

That claim was made against Georgia’s photo ID law in 2021. Yet, Georgia’s Secretary of State reported that turnout in the 2022 general election set records after the law took effect with no evidence to support the charge the ID law reduced turnout among minorities.

The bottom line: Requiring a photo ID won’t make it harder to vote. It will make it harder to cheat.

Vote yes on Question 7.

E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.