New Voter ID Laws Could Affect Election Outcome, Hinder the Number of Latino Voters

New voting laws in key states could cause a delay in the outcome of the presidential election in November, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The laws could force voters to cast provisional ballots and could leave the outcome in doubt in Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

According to the AP, some new voter identification laws are still being debated in courts. Daniel Smith, a political scientist at the University of Florida, said, "It's a possibility of a complete meltdown for the election."

There are a myriad of reason for voters to cast provisional ballots, including improper ID at the polls, failure to update voter registration, voting at the wrong precinct or a challenge to some one's right to vote. The AP reported that nearly 2.1 million provisional ballots were cast in the 2008 presidential election.

Election officials could take days or weeks to verify the provisional ballots, which could bring about chaos during a close election. November's election could be a reminder of what occurred in Florida in 2000, when the winner of the presidential election was unknown for weeks. George W. Bush was eventually declared the winner after it was announced that he had won by 537 votes.

"In a close election, all eyes are going to be on those provisional ballots, and those same canvassing boards that were looking at pregnant chads and hanging chads back in 2000," Smith told the AP. "It's a potential mess."

The new voter ID laws could also potentially hinder the number of Latinos voting in the election, reported ABC News. A new study by the Advancement Project, a civil rights group, reported that at least 10 million Latinos in 23 states could be barred from casting their votes.

According to ABC News, close to 23 million Latinos are eligible to vote this November, although 12.2 million of them are expected to vote. Latinos, which have been courted by both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, have traditionally favored Democrats. Some analysts, however, said the number cited by the Advantage Project is exaggerated, HuffPost Latino Politics reported. 

ABC News reported that activists challenging voter ID laws have said that the laws are "a political ploy on behalf of Republicans to limit turnout from minority voters who traditionally favor Democrats." Recent polls show that President Obama leads Romney by a wide margin among Latino voters.