Where voters must show ID.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

The federal Help America Vote Act passed in 2002 called for all states to require identification from first-time voters who register to vote by mail. More than a dozen states have enacted major legislation since then, and 26 now have more comprehensive voter identification requirements than mandated by the federal law.

Eight states currently request or require voters to show a photo ID. Eighteen accept other forms of identification that do not necessarily include a photo. No state, however, turns away a voter who cannot produce identification from the polls; all states have some sort of recourse for voters without identification to cast a vote. In Georgia and Indiana, for example, voters without ID cast a provisional ballot, and must return to election officials within a few days and show a photo ID in order for their ballots to be counted.

Several of the new laws requiring an ID have been challenged in court. Arizona's Proposition 200, passed by referendum in 2004, requires voters to present proof of citizenship and identification. In 2006, a coalition of plaintiffs challenged the law on constitutional grounds. The federal district court denied their claim for a preliminary injunction, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and granted the injunction. On Oct. 20, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit decision, clearing the way for the voter identification requirement. Also in 2006, several nonprofit organizations successfully challenged...