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State of Election Administration Legislation 2023 Mid-Year Report: Photo ID requirements for in-person and absentee voting
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Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification |
June 29, 2023
By Ballotpedia staff
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Photo ID requirements for in-person voting
Federal law requires voters to provide either a driver's license number or the last four digits of their social security number when registering to vote in a federal election, as well as requiring certain first-time voters who register to vote by mail to provide additional identification before voting. States with voter identification laws require voters to present some form of identification for in-person voting, as well. Some of those states require voters to present photo identification at the polls.
Heading into 2023, 22 states required voters to provide photo ID when voting in person.
Nebraska and Ohio have enacted new voter ID requirements in 2023.
What about absentee/mail-in voting?
No states currently require voters to include a copy of their photo ID when returning an absentee/mail-in ballot.
As of May 31, Republican legislators in three states—Alabama, New Jersey, and New York—had introduced bills that would require voters to include a copy of their photo ID when returning an absentee/mail-in ballot. The bills introduced in Alabama and New Jersey included exemptions for certain voters, including uniformed and overseas voters, voters with disabilities, and elderly voters. The New Jersey bill also included an exception for voters with religious objections to being photographed.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments.
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language.
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
About the authors
Joe Greaney is a staff writer on Ballotpedia's Marquee Team.
Janie Valentine is a team lead on Ballotpedia's Marquee Team.
Ballotpedia Editor in Chief Geoff Pallay reviewed the report and provided feedback, as did Managing Editor Cory Eucalitto.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- About Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- Voting laws in the United States
- Election Policy
