Voters would have to show photo identification to vote in New Hampshire under legislation passed by the House and Senate. It now heads to the governor but the bill’s future there looks uncertain.
The version approved 14-9 by the Senate on Wednesday allows for provisional ballots for those who do not have official identification, allowing them to vote if they come back to municipal officials within three days with a government-issued photo identification.
Voters also could get a waiver from the photo identification requirement from the Secretary of State or request and receive a voucher to cover the cost of getting photo identification from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Kingston Sen. Russell Prescott said he believed in voter identification. “It takes care of voter integrity,” he said. But he voted against the legislation because of the provisional ballot plan.
“We’ll be sending people away from the polls and telling them they have to come back,” he said, arguing the Senate should push for a version without a provisional ballot measure.
Others objected to requiring photo identification and creating additional steps for people without identification to get their vote counted.
“These are significant impediments to our most fundamental right,” said Concord Sen. Sylvia Larsen. “There are people who might be in wheelchairs, who might be elderly.”
The requirements to travel from one office to another to get vouchers or photo identification within three days would effectively disenfranchise legal voters, she said.
Full Article: NH House, Senate pass photo IDs for voters – Boston.com.