Proposed legislation requiring Nebraska voters to present government-issued photo IDs attracted a flood of opposition Friday while prompting Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to travel to Lincoln to support the bill. Kobach, best-known nationally for his activities opposing illegal immigration, told state senators a similar voter ID law is working well in Kansas and early evidence demonstrates that it “does not depress (voter) turnout.” His testimony before the Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee was prompted by an invitation from its chairman, Sen. John Murante of Omaha, he said.
A parade of witnesses opposing the bill (LB111) introduced by Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill told the committee the government-issued photo ID requirement would result in voter suppression affecting racial minorities, the young, the elderly, the disabled, students and the poor.
There is no evidence of voter fraud in Nebraska that requires such a law, the committee was told. “This bill is a solution looking for a problem,” M. Dewayne Mays of the Lincoln branch of the NAACP said.
“It’s a bill there is no reason for,” said former Lancaster County Judge Jan Gradwohl. “It’s like requiring everybody to have an umbrella in case the sky would fall.”
Full Article: Voter photo ID sparks opposition : Politics.