A Guarani-Kaiowá Native Brazilian shows her voter identification, September 2006
A voter ID law is a law that requires a person to show some
form of identification on election day. In many jurisdictions requiring
voter IDs (such as New Hampshire), voters who do not have photo ID often
must sign a Challenged Voter Affidavit in order to receive a ballot to
vote.
Examples
Greece
Voters
identify themselves by their ID cards and are given the full number of
ballot papers for the constituency plus a blank ballot paper and an
empty envelope.
Argentina
In Argentina voting is compulsory
for all citizens between 18 and 70 years old, non-compulsory for those
older than 70 and between 16 and [DJS -- less than?] 18, and citizens with domiciles in
foreign countries. To vote they must present a valid Documento Nacional de Identidad at the corresponding voting center.
Most countries in Latin America have similar policies.
Australia
In Australia voting is considered compulsory
for all adult citizens, although it is not compulsory to be registered
on the electoral roll and is therefore difficult to enforce. Voting is
only enforceable for those on the roll. Failure to cast a ballot may
result in a small fine, currently AU$20.
No form of ID is required to cast a ballot at an election;
instead, voters are asked three questions before being issued a ballot,
so that they can be checked off the electoral roll: (1) what is your
full name; (2) where do you live; and (3) have you voted before in this
election?
On election day, voters can vote at any polling place in their state of
residence, and at selected polling places in other states.
Brazil
In Brazil voting is compulsory for all citizens between 18 and 70 years old. To vote, all citizens must:
- Be registered to vote, getting a voter ID card, called "Título Eleitoral" aka "Títilo de Eleitor" in Brazil
- Report in person to the voting section
- Present an official identity document with photo, usually the regular ID card (cédula de identidade)
Since 2006 the Brazilian Electoral Justice is re-registering voters with biometric identification. In the 2014 elections more than 22 million voters out of 141 million will be identified by fingerprints.
Canada
Federal elections
In
Canada, the Federal government mails an Elections Canada registration
confirmation card, which the voter takes to the polling station. The
card tells the individual where and when to vote. Voters must prove
their identity and address with one of three options:
- Show one original government-issued piece of identification with photo, name and address, like a driver's license or a health card.
- Show two original pieces of authorized identification. Both pieces must have a name and one must also have an address. Examples: student ID card, birth certificate, public transportation card, utility bill, bank/credit card statement, etc.
- Take an oath and have an elector who knows the voter vouch for them
(both of whom must make a sworn statement). This person must have
authorized identification and their name must appear on the list of
electors in the same polling division as the voter. This person can only
vouch for one person and the person who is vouched for cannot vouch for
another elector.
Provincial elections
However, in some provinces
a voter must establish their identity by presenting a health insurance
card, driver’s license, Canadian passport, certificate of Indian status,
or a Canadian Forces ID card.
These are all photo IDs.
France
In
France, you have to prove your identity to vote: at the registration
(proof of address —A phone, water or electricity invoice...— and an
identity document that prove your nationality —National Identity Card or
Passport— and the day of the vote, in town larger than 1000
inhabitants, an identity document is required.
Germany
Germany
uses a community-based resident registration system. Everyone eligible
to vote receives a personal polling notification by mail, some weeks
before the election. The notification indicates the voter's precinct
polling station. Voters must present their polling notification and if
asked a piece of photo ID (identity card (compulsory in Germany),
passport, form of identification). As a rule identification is not
required other than by the polling notification. If the voter cannot
present the notification, a valid ID and an entry in the register of
voters can qualify for voting.
Iceland
Voting
is voluntary for all citizens 18 years or older. All voters must present
photo ID before being allowed to vote. To prevent double-voting fraud,
every voter is checked against the national voter database before their
ballot is placed into the ballot box.
India
The Indian voter ID card is an identity document issued by the Election Commission of India
to adult domiciles of India who have reached the age of 18, which
primarily serves as an identity proof for Indian citizens while casting
their ballot in the country's municipal, state, and national elections. It also serves as general identity, address, and age proof for other purposes such as buying a mobile phone SIM card or applying for a passport. It also serves as a Travel Document to travel to Nepal and Bhutan by Land or Air
It is also known as Electoral Photo ID Card (EPIC). It was first
introduced in 1993 during the tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner
TN Seshan. There are 11 other types of alternative identification documents specified that can be accepted for voting.
Israel
Similar to Germany, there is a national voters database and photo ID is required (identity card, passport or driving license).
Italy
Italy have ID cards, which you present when voting.
Mexico
In Mexico
voting is a voluntary right and is exercised protected by secrecy.
Electoral laws are created by the federal government through the INE: National Electoral Institute (formerly IFE:
Instituto Nacional Electoral 1990-2014). A free photo ID or elector's
card is issued by right to all citizens of Mexico over 18, but sometimes
months prior. Being allowed to commence paperwork before turning 18 is
decided upon the day and month of birth, and how it plays in the current
year's electoral calendar, as the institute suspends all new registries
several months prior to any election. This action allows young Mexicans
turning 18 within an inactive period to still enroll and guarantee
their right to participate in the coming election. Full legal age in
Mexico is 18 for both born and naturalized citizens. The voting ID card
was introduced in 1990 by the now inactive IFE
as a tool to "properly identify electors in a country with a history of
voters casting multiple ballots and curious vote counts resulting in
charges of fraud." After 2014 the IFE
was deemed permanently inactive due to minor constitutional reforms,
therefore the INE was simultaneously created. Although both institutes
carry out almost exactly the same tasks and duties, this change allowed
for yet further homogenization of elections in the country and opening
way to what many Mexicans and members of the international community
call the first ever legal elections in the country, in 2017. The INE
elector's card is currently used in Mexico as the main mean of age and
identity validation for legal, commercial and financial purposes, making
this a vital document for all Mexicans over the age of 18, and
consequently broadening the chance for more citizens participating on
election day.
Netherlands
The registration office of each municipality
in the Netherlands maintains a registration of all residents. Every
eligible voter receives a personal polling notification by mail some
weeks before the election, indicating the polling station of the voter's
precinct. Voters must present their polling notification and a piece of
photo ID (passport, identity card, or drivers license (a passport or ID is compulsory from the age of 14)). Such photo ID may be expired but not by more than five years.
Norway
Voting in
Norway is voluntary for citizens 18 years or older (16 in some
municipalities). Every person who is eligible to vote are sent a polling
card in the mail a while before the election. The polling card
recommends the closest voting location to you, but you are not required
to vote there, but you are required to vote within your municipality.
The polling card contains the date(s) of the election, opening times of
polling locations and information on how to vote. While it is not
mandatory to bring the polling card on the day(s) of the election, it
generally makes the process smoother. However, a photographic ID, such
as a passport or a driver's license, is required to vote. During the
election day after you pick your party, you present your photographic ID
and optionally your poll card to the poll attendants who verifies the
information against a database, and record that you have voted.
Sweden
When
physically voting on election day, every voter must provide a valid
identification document (such as a passport, drivers license, or an ID
card from the Swedish Tax Agency). If a voter is missing valid
identification, another person with valid ID-documents can certify the
identity of the documentless voter.
Switzerland
In Swiss cantons (i.e. the subnational political level in Switzerland) that still use the Landsgemeinde or cantonal assembly; Historically, or in Appenzell
until the admission of women, the only proof of citizenship necessary
for men to enter the voting area was to show their ceremonial sword or
Swiss military sidearm (bayonet); this gave proof that you were a
freeman allowed to bear arms and to vote. Women, and men who choose to do so, may show their voting card instead.
United Kingdom
Photographic identification is mandatory to vote in elections in Northern Ireland.
There is currently no requirement to have identification to vote in elections in England, Scotland and Wales, before any election all eligible voters are sent a Poll card by their local authority although it is not a requirement to be in possession of a Poll card to vote.
A trial was held for the 2018 United Kingdom local elections - voters in 5 local authorities in England (Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking) were required to show ID before voting as part of a pilot scheme to combat Electoral fraud. The legal basis for the trial has been contested.
United States
The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the conditioning of the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. However, many states have some form of voter ID requirement, which have been allowed to stand by the Supreme Court.
