So the voter identification panel yesterday at APSA, at least the part that I could attend, was quite interesting.

First, the panel was packed — literally standing room only. I didn’t get a head count, but the fact that the session was packed to me demonstrated the importance of the voter identification issue and the growing importance of the study of election administration in political science.

The one presentation that I heard (not involving work that I’m involved on) regarded some interesting survey data that Matt Barreto talked about. The survey data that his team has collected estimates the availability of the identification necessary for voting in Indiana, thus studying the potential effects of Indiana’s voter identification requirement on the electorate. I’ll try to get a copy of this paper so I can take a closer look at their analysis.

[September 3, 2008 Update] Here’s a link to the Barreto, Nuno and Sanchez paper, “The Disproportionate Impact of Photo Identification Requirements on the Indiana Electorate.”