Voter ID laws vary in type and level of strictness but are generally intended to verify the voter’s identity against registration records. Depending on the law, they can require someone to present a form of photo or nonphoto identification at the polling place. Some stricter laws require a government-issued ID and do not offer other options, like provisional ballots, to those who don’t have the proper documentation. The current prevalence of voter ID laws—which exist to various extents in 35 states—can lead some to believe they are ordinary or at least have a well-established historical precedent. On the contrary, these laws are a modern phenomenon; the first voter ID law was implemented in 2006 in Indiana and required voters to present an up-to-date photo ID at the polls. The Supreme Court upheld the law’s constitutionality in 2008, and a cascade of other states implemented versions of the same policy in …