17 to 7 vote kills bill to require people to show a government-issued photo-id before voting. But backers say they’ll push again next year. NHPR’s Josh Rogers reports.
The bill would have allowed voters without identification to cast provisional ballots and given them 2-1/2 days to produce a photo ID. But the Governor called that too high a hurdle for a basic constitutional right. Before the vote, Manchester Democrat Lou D’Allesandro told colleagues that bill would discourage qualified voters from casting ballots.
“We should be doing everything they can to induce people to participate in this magnificent process. You know many of our brothers and sisters have given their lives to make this process open to everyone in the most accessible manner.”
Election clerks also opposed the measure, on the grounds it would be cumbersome and expensive to administer. The bill’s supporters, meanwhile, say it’s a needed safeguard against voter fraud, and promised to introduce a fresh bill next year that addresses some of the concerns of election officials.