US has no uniform national policy on voter's ID requirements

Unlike in India, there is no national uniform policy on voter's identification requirement in the US, where it varies from state-to-state and in some states voters are not required to show a photo identity card.
For millions of Americans who plan to vote on Tuesday, the identification required for them to cast ballot would depend on the state they live in.
In a majority of the states they would be required to show a photo identity card, but in some they do not need it at all.
As per the available information, about 60 per cent of US voters live in the 32 states that require a voter at a polling station to produce an identification document (ID) before casting their ballot.

Among those states, 19 permit voters without an 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 non-document requirements instead.

Georgia and Indiana were the first states to enact strictly enforced photo ID requirements, in 2003 and 2005, respectively. The most recent such requirement is that of North Dakota, enacted in 2015.
Amidst increasing allegations of voter's fraud, over the last two decades, the number of states requiring voter IDs have tripled.
"The stringency of those requirements is controversial," the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) has said in a report.

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 non-photo ID. In addition, eight states require ID for voters casting absentee or mail-in ballots," said the CRS report.
Like India, there are sharp differences between those who support and those who are against voter identification requirement.
The CRS report said 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," the report said.
US lawmakers differ on voters ID requirements as well.
Several bills introduced in the current Congress contain provisions pertaining to voter ID. Some of those bills contain provisions would promote or protect voter ID requirements, while provisions in others would modify, restrict, or eliminate the use of such requirements.

Interestingly, Oregon and Washington conduct elections entirely by mail. Both states also permit voters to cast a ballot in person during a designated voting period that ends on Election Day.
Washington requires either a photo ID or signature declaration for in-person voting. Oregon uses signature verification for both mail-in and in-person ballots, it said.
Some states in the "strictly enforced" category also provide exceptions or other recourse to a restricted group of voters.
All but one state (North Dakota) accept a US passport or other federal photo ID, although some states stipulate that a voter produce an ID showing the voter's address (eg Arizona, Ohio), in which case a second ID might be necessary.

Other IDs are specified as acceptable by several states.
For example, tribal IDs are explicitly mentioned by 16 states.
Overall, while the requirements in some states, such as Alabama and Mississippi, appear to be similar overall, no two states have clearly identical requirements, it said.
Five of the photo ID states where the requirement is not strictly enforced permit a voter without ID to cast a regular ballot after signing an affidavit (Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Dakota), CRS said.
The other four permit the voter to cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted after confirmation of a signature match (Florida and Washington) or information provided in an affidavit (Rhode Island and South Carolina).

The voter's eligibility may be challengeable or subject to subsequent investigation to verify eligibility, it said.
Also unlike India, there is no universal voter ID that is used in the US (including the voter registration card, which is mostly used to provide information for the voter rather than for identification).
Acceptable forms of identification differ by state and may be obtained from agencies or other entities that vary among the states.