Hans A. von Spakovsky, a conservative lecturer, recounted the American history of voting irregularities, right up to the modern era, as part of his case for the enactment of photo identification laws Monday at the University of Toledo.
Mr. von Spakovsky was a speaker at the university College of Law’s McQuade Law Auditorium, a guest of the Stranahan National Issues Forum, funded by an endowment from the Stranahan Foundation, and in partnership with the law college and its Federalist Society.
Mr. von Spakovsky, a former employee of the U.S. Justice Department, where he enforced the U.S. Civil Rights Act, a former member of the Federal Elections Commission, and now a senior legal fellow for the Heritage Foundation, has written and lectured widely on election law.
RELATED: Ruling halts Golden Week of early voting
While Democrats and advocates of broadening access to voting claim that Republicans and the right exaggerate the incidence of election fraud, Mr. von Spakovsky said it’s been enough in some cases to sway elections.
He said 1,400 votes were cast by ineligible prisoners in Minnesota in the 2008 U.S. Senate race that was won by Democrat Al Franken with about a 312-vote majority.
“The number of ineligible voters was about four times the margin of victory,” he said.
He also pointed out that Ohio had 110 election recounts in 2013, including 35 local races and eight local issues that were decided by only one vote or were tied.
“The overwhelming evidence shows that voter ID does not suppress turnout,” he said.
He said a photo identification is necessary for the exercise of other fundamental rights, such as to marry, to get a job, to buy a gun, and to enter a federal building.
“A majority supports voter ID because they know you can just about not function in daily life without a photo ID,” Mr. von Spakovsky said.
He contended that photo ID laws enacted in Georgia and Indiana in 2006 were predicted to suppress black and overall voting.
In reality, the voter turnout in Georgia increased more in the 2008 election than most other states, including among black and Hispanic voters, he said.
A photo ID bill has been introduced in, but not acted on, by the Ohio General Assembly. Opponents of ID laws say they are not necessary and that some voters, especially those with low incomes, don’t have a driver’s license and would find themselves unable to vote.
Current law requires a voter to show identification with his or her current address, including a driver’s license, but also, for example, a government check or utility bill.
About 50 people attended the lecture.
Mr. von Spakovsky is co-author of Who’s Counting? How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk in 2012.
Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.
First Published September 30, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
