New statistical method links vast records, shows negative effect of Texas voter ID law

As state voter identification (ID) laws across the country are being contested amid questions about the integrity of the voting process, researchers have developed a new statistical method that not only matches multiple records with precision, but can also identify the scope of discrimination when applied to voter ID laws. Recently featured in the American Statistical Association’s journal Statistics and Public Policy, the research titled “ADGN: An Algorithm for Record Linkage Using Address, Date of Birth, Gender and Name” was applied to a 2011 Texas voter ID law (S.B. 14), which the United States Department of Justice investigated as possibly discriminatory.