Why Voter ID Laws Don’t Swing Many Elections

Many people have understandably blamed low turnout for the Democratic Party’s misfortune on Nov. 4, but some have gone a step further.

They argue that turnout was so low because of voter suppression, particularly laws requiring voters to present photo identification. They assert that these laws disenfranchised enough voters to decide several elections, even a Kansas governor’s contest where a Republican won by four percentage points.

Voter ID laws might well be a cynical, anti-democratic attempt to disenfranchise voters to help Republicans, as Democrats claim. But that doesn’t mean that...