Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as United Nations ambassador under President Donald Trump, implied in a recent Facebook post that Americans have to show an ID to do dozens of routine things, but not to vote — an interesting claim since she signed a voter photo ID requirement into law in her home state over a decade ago.
"Things that make you go (thinking emoji)," reads a June 7 Facebook post by Haley. The post shared an image from Stand for America, an advocacy group she founded, that shows a lengthy list of activities that require presentation of an ID — including buying alcohol or cigarettes, getting married and boarding an airplane — and a list of what an ID is not required for, which just says "to vote."
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Ken Farnaso, a spokesperson for Haley, said that although Haley obviously knows that voter ID laws exist, having signed one into law, she believes they should be used to safeguard every election.
"While we recognize that some states do have voter ID laws, the vast majority of Americans are not required to abide by strict voter ID laws," he said. "Strict voter ID is only required in 11 states, covering 18% of the U.S. population."
Haley’s post, shared and liked by more than 1,000 people, made no such recognition and included no caveats.
Farnaso’s numbers are correct according to a definition of "strict" that means that people who show up without a voter ID are allowed only to cast a provisional ballot. But voter ID laws requiring some form of ID covered about 6 in 10 registered voters in the 2020 election.
Sean Morales-Doyle is acting director for voting rights and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school. He said "voter ID" laws come in many forms, from a federal law that requires people registering to vote by mail for the first time to provide ID, to a variety of state laws with differing requirements.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 35 U.S. states have laws that require or request some form of identification to vote. Those laws applied to about 59% of registered voters in the 2020 election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The laws vary in terms of whether they are strictly applied and whether a photo ID, or other forms of documentation, are accepted.
Fifteen states, along with the District of Columbia, have no ID laws, but use other methods, such as matching signatures, to verify a voter’s identity. Two of those states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, passed ID laws that have been struck down by courts. These states made up about 41% of registered voters in 2020.
Because each state runs its own elections, ID laws vary, as do acceptable forms of identification.
Seven states — Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin — have what the NCSL labels "strict" photo ID laws, meaning those without one must vote on a provisional ballot and take later steps in order for their votes to count.