More than a dozen states have passed new laws that civil rights advocates say will discourage minority turnout at the polls in next year’s elections. The laws range from laws requiring voters to present a photo ID before casting their ballot, to restrictions on early voting and new rules that make it harder for former felons to vote. A study by NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice estimates the law will impact more than five million voters and could well alter the turnout of a close election. Hans von Spakovsky is a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and the manager of their Civil Justice Reform Initiative. He’s also a former member of the Federal Election Commission. He favors voter ID laws.
Michael Waldman, the executive director of New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, discusses why he believes the laws are discriminatory.