The House gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would move up new proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration to June 15, as recommended by Secretary of State Kris Kobach. The bill, which passed 72-51, now heads to the Senate, where leadership has shown little interest in taking it up. The Senate voted last year to stagger the implementation of photo ID voting requirements and the citizenship measure, delaying the latter until Jan. 1, 2013.
Kobach has said the proof of citizenship measure should be in place earlier than that to prevent a wave of “alien voters” from registering in advance of November’s national elections. But the threat of that is disputed, and Senate leaders have said it would be foolish to try to enact the registration requirements before a computer system that will allow the Division of Vehicles to scan and transfer citizenship documents is fully operational in August. The bill includes a provision written by Kobach that states the division is only required to receive and visually examine the documents.
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