This paper differs from others in finding great partisan and racial effects of voter id laws. It has been getting a lot of attention from the left, as proof that these laws have a big suppressive effect.

The study may well pan out. I think Hajnal is a very good and careful scholar. But it is still a working paper that has not yet gone through peer review, and it is at odds with other studies, which find modest effects or no effects.

That’s how social science is.  There’s generally not one big study which solves all of life’s mysteries. It is a slow accretion of knowledge.

Many will want this paper’s conclusions to be validated, because it is in line with our world view. It is like the paper from last year which purportedly found noncitizen voting likely affecting the outcome of elections.  After further scrutiny many believe the paper’s methodology is not sound.

So take a breath.