People would be required to show a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship before they could register to vote in Kentucky under a proposal by Hilda Legg, a Republican candidate for secretary of state. Legg, former head of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission, made the proposal during a televised debate Monday night with GOP opponent…
Senate Democrats have killed two more bills from the GOP-controlled House, both of which dealt with the issue of illegal immigration. A controversial proposal to reduce alleged voter fraud, House 1252 would have allowed the Secretary of State’s office to cross-check the state’s voter rolls with immigration databases and to send letters demanding further proof…
Mandating photo identification for voting is just one part of a reshaping of Tennessee election laws by the Legislature’s Republican majority that also includes resolution of a three-year dispute over installing new voting machines statewide. In a compromise last week, Republicans backed off of bills to repeal outright the Voter Confidence Act of 2008, which…
The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday that would require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. The passage came despite a state Attorney General’s opinion that the measure would likely be ruled a “poll tax” by a court The state attorney general’s opinion released this week that says the courts…
The South Carolina Senate voted to non-concur on what senate leaders called a “flawed” Voter ID bill passed by the House of Representatives. Because of the flaws in the House language and new matter inserted in the supposedly clean bill, the vote to non-concur was overwhelming. Without agreement from the house, the bill, which would…
A House committee approved a bill Thursday that would require people to show a photo ID before they can vote, and with Republicans in control in the Legislature, the bill has a stronger chance of passing than in years past. Despite Republicans in the Minnesota House and Senate looking at significant spending cuts to erase…
Fresh off commanding electoral victories in November, Republican majorities in many state legislatures want to require voters to show photo identification at the polls, a move Democrats say is cynically designed to help the GOP during the next election cycle. Voter identification laws have been a demarcation line between Democrats and Republicans for years. Democrats…
A proposal to require Tennessee voters to present a photo ID at their polling place ran into a speed bump at the state capitol Wednesday. Tennessee’s attorney general issued an opinion saying that the Voter ID bill would likely be found unconstitutional. Representative Craig Fitzhugh, the House Democratic Leader, was one of the lawmakers who…
After two organizations with tea party ties called for voters to voluntarily show identification at the polls during the special primary for the 6th Worcester District House race on Tuesday and the general election on May 10, officials said they will take steps to protect would-be voters. The district is composed of Southbridge, Charlton, East…
Of all the important election-related proposals that were considered in our latest New Mexico legislative session, one stands out. This is the issue of photo voter identification, which generated extreme partisan interest. Photo voter ID was promoted in the election campaigning by our new Republican governor and also by our new Republican secretary of state,…
Ohio’s elections chief said yesterday that “there is a better way” in reference to a controversial Ohio House bill that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted is proposing election reforms as an alternative to the GOP-backed House Bill 159, which would require that anyone voting…
House Republicans squashed a Senate plan Wednesday to let voters cast ballots early and sent back to the Senate a bill requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls. Under the bill approved by the Republican-controlled House, voters must bring a driver’s license, passport, military ID or other photo ID to the polls…
After passing both the House and Senate, the contentious Senate voter ID bill returned to the upper chamber with a variety of House amendments. Rather than accept the House’s tweaks to the measure, the Senate sent the bill to conference committee, where five members of each chamber will iron out the differences between the versions.…
A lot of statistics are being presented and there’s still a lot of confusion about how necessary the voter ID bill is and whether it would make voting difficult for some. But that hasn’t stopped Republicans from pushing the bill through. Wednesday afternoon the back and forth between right and left continued in committee.
Democratic legislators argued Tuesday that if Republicans are going to mandate a photo identification for voting, the state should provide free identification cards to those who cannot afford them. The argument did not work – at least for now -with the GOP majority on the House State and Local Government Committee, which proceeded to approve…
Republican state lawmakers say they have removed the photo requirement from a bill that would make voters show ID in order to cast a ballot. The latest draft eliminates language that would require a photo ID. Instead, individuals would now be allowed to use a county-issued voter registration card or documents such as a utility bill…
A bill designed by Secretary of State Scott Gessler and sponsored by Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, to ensure the integrity of the Colorado voting system is being called a means to reduce voter participation by voters’ rights advocates. Gessler said his bill fixes what he sees as a serious problem of ineligible voters on the voter…
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz issued a statement Friday criticizing Iowa Senate Democrats for killing his proposal to require all Iowa voters to show a photo identification card before they vote in an effort to prevent fraud. “It is unfortunate that Senate Democrats have decided to kill a common-sense bill,” said Schultz, a Republican…
As Republican governors and legislators across the country push forward with ambitious and sometimes controversial budget-cutting agendas, the GOP in many states is also quietly encouraging another controversial measure: Voter ID. The Associated Press reported this weekend that Republicans are moving forward with such measures – which can require people to show identification or swear…
The impending law requiring voter photo identification was considered by Democrats as a political move so that fewer Hispanics go to vote when elections are held. “It’s just that, a political move aimed at creating difficulties for members of minorities to vote. This is something that Republicans have long sought to remove power for the…
Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott is standing united with all other county auditors in Iowa to oppose a law championed by Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz that would require a photo identification to vote in Iowa. Although the law appears to be dead for this legislative session, Schultz is indicating that he doesn’t plan…
It’s not every day that House Speaker Gordon D. Fox adds his name to a bill with Republican Joseph A. Trillo or even fellow Democrat Jon D. Brien. But Fox and House Majority Whip J. Patrick O’Neill, along with Brien, Trillo and Republican Tea Party member Doreen Costa, have joined together to support a bill…
Backers of the “photo ID” voter legislation got a bit of a scare last week. The bill, which would require voters to show photo identification when they vote, was pronounced nearly dead by a group that had championed it. “Internal Republican politics may ultimately kill 21st Century Voter ID,” screamed an e-mail alert from Minnesota…
Empowered by last year’s elections, Republican leaders in about half the states are pushing to require voters to show photo ID at the polls despite little evidence of fraud and already-substantial punishments for those who vote illegally. Democrats claim the moves will disenfranchise poor and minority voters — many of whom traditionally vote for their…
Legislative staff has come up with a non-partisan fiscal note on voter identification. On the high end, it shows the cost to the state could be two-and-a-half million dollars. But critics say that’s way under what other states have reported and isn’t close to what the actual cost may be. The fiscal note offers a…
Voter ID bills introduced early in the legislative session have languished for many reasons, but they might be mostly burdened by their potential costs. We wrote about some feared costs before, particularly as they apply to proposed electronic pollbooks. Now, Minnesota Common Cause and Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota have compiled a detailed review (PDF)…
Georgia’s top court has upheld a state law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast ballots. The Georgia Supreme Court’s 6-1 decision Monday is the latest court ruling to conclude that the rules are constitutional. The decision found the 2006 law was a “minimal, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory restriction.” Georgia attorneys said the…
Legislation that would for the first time require Texans to show a photo ID to vote was approved by a House committee on Monday and sent to the full House, where it is expected to easily pass. The voter ID bill, which already has been approved by the Senate, was approved by the House Select…
A bill that would require Missouri to show a state, federal, or military picture ID when voting moved to the house Friday after passage in the state senate the day before. The bill would amend the state’s constitution to change those requirements. Republican Senator Bill Stouffer of Marshall sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 2. “Our right…
In a move meant to lure boycotting opposition senators back to Wisconsin, the Republican leader of the state Senate threatened Monday to force a vote soon on a bill that is abhorred by Democrats: requiring people to show an ID at the polls. The push on the photo ID bill by Senate Majority Leader Scott…