Following passage of HAVA, states enacted laws to implement the act's identification requirement, and in some cases, more stringent requirements, leading to a doubling over the next few years in the number of states with voter ID requirements. Voter ID Legislation in the 114th Congress

Several bills introduced in the 114 th Congress contain provisions pertaining to voter ID. H.R. H.R. 2867 and S. 1659 would restrict the use of voter ID. H.R. H.R. Several states that do not require voter ID currently require an affidavit or signature by a voter before the voter can cast a ballot. H.R. S. 1912 would modify state voter ID requirements. The other 18 states and the District of Columbia do not require a voter to provide any ID to vote—they have a range of nondocument requirements instead. In a state with a strictly enforced requirement, a voter who does not present the required ID at the polling place—with certain exceptions that vary among the states—either cannot cast a ballot at all or must cast a provisional ballot and take action after leaving the polling place to verify his or her identity in order for the ballot to be counted. Examples of such alternative means of identification include signing an affidavit or providing a nonphoto ID. All states accept driver's licenses or nondriver IDs issued by that state. These laws have been challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), and state constitutional provisions. Such challenges have drawn attention in view of a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, discussed below, that upheld the constitutionality of an Indiana voter photo ID law. Challenges under Section 2 of the VRA are also notable because in the past, Section 2 has generally been invoked in the context of redistricting. Likewise, leading up to the November 8, 2016, presidential election, there has been ongoing litigation challenging certain state laws. This section of the report analyzes challenges to voter photo ID laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA, specifically addressing, by way of example, recent court rulings in North Carolina and Texas; provides an overview of a challenge to a voter photo ID law under a state constitutional provision; and finally, discusses some potential implications of these challenges. Therefore, case law applying Section 2 to voter photo ID laws is evolving and ultimately, may be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Concluding Observations

Given recent state legislative activity on photo ID, and identification requirements generally, it is likely that legislators in the states will continue to consider similar legislation in the future. The 2016 election may provide useful data on the implementation and performance of voter ID laws, data that Congress may choose to examine. As more experience is obtained with the impacts of the range of voter ID requirements in different states on both individual voters and elections, a consensus may emerge about the benefits and disadvantages of those requirements, including answers to questions such as the following:
Does attempted voter fraud occur frequently enough that it poses significant risk to the validity of the outcome of elections? In any case, voter ID is likely to continue to be a topic of significant interest well beyond the November 2016 election. The tables briefly summarize the major requirements for each state, describing 
the types of IDs accepted, whether the requirements apply to absentee and mail-in voting as well as in-person balloting, exceptions to the ID requirements for specified classes of voters, the recourse available to voters who do not present an accepted ID, year of enactment of the requirement (for photo ID states) and additional information such as whether an expired ID will be accepted and whether the state makes an ID available without charge to qualified voters.
About 60% of U.S. voters live in the 32 states that require a voter at a polling place to produce an identification document (ID) before casting a ballot. Among those states, 19 permit voters without ID to cast a ballot through alternative means, such as signing an affidavit; 13 strictly enforce the ID requirement. The other 18 states and the District of Columbia have a range of nondocument requirements instead.
Over the last two decades, the number of states requiring voter IDs has tripled. The stringency of those requirements is controversial. States vary substantially in the range of IDs accepted, the information they must contain, and the ease with which a voter can procure an ID. Although all states requiring voter ID accept a local driver's license, no two states have the same overall requirements. Among states with voter ID laws, 18 require photographic identification (photo ID), while 14 permit a nonphoto ID. In addition, eight states require ID for voters casting absentee or mail-in ballots.
Several states enacted voter ID laws that have been struck down by courts or are not yet in effect. Recent congresses have seen a number of bills with voter ID provisions, including H.R. 885, H.R. 2867, H.R. 3277, H.R. 3364, H.R. 5557, S. 1659, and S. 1912 in the 114th Congress. State legislatures also continue to consider the issue.
Supporters of the more stringent requirements often emphasize the need to prevent voter fraud, while opponents emphasize the need to avoid disenfranchising legitimate voters who do not have ready access to an accepted ID. Polling data suggest that most voters and most local election officials support a voter ID requirement but that many are also concerned about the risk of disenfranchisement. Both voter fraud and disenfranchisement pose potential risks to the integrity of the electoral process, but the policy debate is being conducted in the absence of a consensus about the evidence pertaining to those risks, with available studies producing a broad range of results.
As with the 2014 election, leading up to the November 8, 2016, presidential election, state voter photo ID laws have been challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), and state constitutional provisions. Such challenges have drawn attention in view of a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the constitutionality under the Fourteenth Amendment of a voter photo ID law, and because some suits have been brought under Section 2 of the VRA, which in the past, has generally been invoked in the context of redistricting. As the case law challenging voter photo ID laws under Section 2 of the VRA is just beginning to develop, it ultimately may be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Election administration is complex, and changes in voter ID requirements may affect elections in unanticipated ways, such as a need for more provisional ballots, increased waiting times at polling places, and misapplication of the rules by pollworkers. The longer that election officials have to implement changes to voting procedures, the lower the risk of unintended and potentially harmful consequences may be.
The impact of state voter ID laws is likely to continue to be a topic of high interest beyond November 2016. It seems likely that state legislators will continue to consider such legislation in the future. The 2016 election may provide useful data on the implementation and performance of voter ID laws, which Congress may choose to examine, and which may lead to greater consensus about the benefits and disadvantages of voter identification requirements.