The issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in the
Crawford case (Crawford v. Marion
County Election Bd. 2008) was whether a law (Indiana
Senate Enrolled Act No. 483) passed by the Indiana legislature
requiring most voters to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot
violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiffs argued that
it works an unfair hardship on many people who do not have the
government-issued documents that count as a legitimate ID
(Indiana Democratic Party et al., 12–16). They
argued that the law, in effect, constitutes a poll tax, inasmuch as
there are costs to obtain the right kind of photo ID, costs that
unduly burden many eligible citizens wanting to exercise their right
to vote.