Laws and policies governing proof of identity in the voting process can have a major impact on the ability of citizens to register to vote and to cast a ballot. Identification requirements of some kind may be necessary,  but too often because of the way they are crafted or implemented, they also cause substantial disenfranchisement, especially among certain communities. Discussion and research in this field has tended to focus on how identification systems can be used to prevent certain types of voter fraud. What has been omitted frequently from this dialogue is whether these policies are also serving to exclude portions of the population from participating in the electoral system.

This paper urges stakeholders to scrutinize voter identification systems and procedures more carefully throughout the electoral cycle.  It is an issue that must be considered during the establishment of the legal framework, design and implementation of the overall voter registration system, funding negotiations both domestic and international, any technology procurement process, creation of the voter education plan, decision-making around resource allocation, and during election observation by citizen and international observers before, during and after Election Day.  Ultimately, it may be desirable to construct a set of principles or at least suggested guidelines to assist all the actors who are interested in free, fair and inclusive elections throughout the world.