ChAPTER EighT • CAmPAigns AnD ElECTions 187
through the use of phony voter registrations and absentee ballots. Other observers claim,
however, that errors due to fraud are trivial in number and that a few mistakes are inevi-
table in a system involving millions of voters. These people argue that an excessive concern
with voting fraud makes it harder for minorities and poor people to vote.Voter iD Requirements. In recent years, many states have adopted laws requiring
enhanced proof of identity before voters can cast their ballots. Indiana imposed the
nation’s toughest voter identification (ID) law in 2005. Indiana legislators claimed that they
were motivated by a desire to prevent voting fraud, but critics argued that they were really
trying to suppress voter turnout among minority group members and the poor—the indi-
viduals least likely to possess adequate identification. In 2008, the United States Supreme
Court upheld the Indiana voter ID law.^12Voting Restrictions during the 2012 Election Cycle. In the wake of the Court’s rul-
ing, dozens of states moved to tighten voter ID requirements. Republicans provided almostsenator Charles schumer (D., N.Y.) points to a blowup of a flyer with misleading voting
information. Schumer cosponsored a bill to make the distribution of fraudulent election material a federal
offense. How likely is it that a voter would be misled by such a flyer? (Alex Wong/Getty Images)- Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 128 S.Ct. 1610 (2008).
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