US Election Assistance Agency releases but fails to endorse report finding voter ID requirements reduce turnout.

By Michael Slater and Nathan Henderson-James

The US EAC tasked with, among other things, serving as a clearinghouse for election research decided to play politics today with the release of a study documenting the impact of voter identification requirements on voting. The study, conducted jointly by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University for the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC), found that documentary ID requirements lower voter turnout, particularly for minority voters. Researchers examined voting in the 2004 election. Several states have adopted more stringent voter ID requirements since 2004.

The EAC, however, despite commissioning the study and setting the guidelines for its completion took the unusual step of declining to endorse it.

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