Emails, Frederic Schaffer, professor of political science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, April 20, 2016

The president’s statement is, in my judgement, by-and-large correct. The only clarification I would make is to point out that voter identification laws in the United States vary state by state. The laws in some states are far more restrictive than in others. There has, however, been a move — largely in states in which Republicans control the state legislature and governorship — to make in-person voting more difficult. The Indiana law we discussed in the article you mention was indeed a bellwether in this regard. The ostensible justification for these stricter laws is to combat vote fraud. There is scant evidence, however, that the types of vote fraud which these laws prevent are a real problem. What the president tactfully leaves out in his statement is the fact that making voting more difficult has for the most part been a Republican attempt to keep (likely Democratic) voters away from the polls under the guise of safeguarding the vote.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

And please do email me a copy of the story when it comes out!

Best,

Frederic Schaffer

Frederic C. Schaffer

Professor of Political Science

University of Massachusetts Amherst

https://polsci.umass.edu/people/frederic-c-schaffer

On Apr 20, 2016, at 6:29 PM, Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) wrote:

Thanks. Aside from your 2009 article, any other recommended sources for getting a fix on barriers to voting in other countries?

g.

5:53 p.m.

There has been a lot of work done on the United States, but very little on other countries. The issue is far more politicized here than elsewhere.