Recent Voter ID Legislation News

Here's what has been happening with voter ID legislation in the states, as more states recognize the importance of this important protection of election integrity or seek to improve their existing laws to ensure that every eligible voter is able to vote while protecting the votes of all eligible voters.

Iowa: Contentious voter ID bill gets final OK; heads to Branstad 

The Iowa Senate gave final approval Thursday to contentious legislation that will require voters to show government-issued identification at the polls . . . . 

House File 516 passed on a 28-21 vote with Republicans casting all the yes votes. Democrats and one independent all voted no. The bill now heads to Gov. Terry Branstad, who is expected to sign it.

Nebraska: Resolution to require voter ID at Nebraska's polls advances but is expected to stir debate among lawmakers

The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 6-2 to advance to the floor Legislative Resolution 1CA, which asks Nebraskans whether they want to put a photo ID requirement in the state constitution. 

If adopted by the full Legislature, ballot language on the constitutional amendment would appear before voters in November 2018. If voters approve the amendment it will be left to state lawmakers to pass legislation spelling out what constitutes an acceptable ID and whether the state will pay for IDs for those who cannot afford them.

North Dakota: North Dakota attempting to fix voter ID rules after lawsuit

After altering voter identification laws in previous legislative sessions, North Dakota's Republican-led Legislature now is attempting to fix them after a group of American Indians sued in federal court, alleging the state requirements are unconstitutional and disenfranchised tribal members. 

The House passed a bill Monday that allows those who don't have proper ID to cast a ballot that's set aside until the voter's eligibility is confirmed. The Senate still must agree to the measure before it goes to GOP Gov. Doug Burgum for his signature.

Texas: House committee approves bill to make changes to voter ID law

The House Elections Committee on Monday approved a bill that would make court-ordered changes to the state’s controversial voter identification law, moving the proposal to the House floor under the looming specter of federal action. 

Senate Bill 5, written by Rep. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would give more leeway to people who show up to the polls without one of seven state-approved photo IDs. They would be allowed to use other documents that carry their name and address as proof of identity, such as a utility bill, if they sign a "declaration of impediment" stating why they don't have an approved ID.

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Iowa Legislature Passes Voter ID; Now on Governor's Desk

Last Thursday, the Iowa legislature finalized its voter ID bill and sent it to the Governor for his signature:

The legislation makes sweeping changes to Iowa's elections laws that Republicans say are needed to ensure the honesty of the process and prevent fraud. Among them is a provision that would require every voter to present government-issued identification at the poll on Election Day. In addition, the bill shortens the time frame for casting absentee ballots and voting early at satellite polling sites from 40 days to 29 days. . . . 

“My proposal was aimed at modernizing Iowa’s elections technology, streamlining the system, and protecting it against the potential for human error and fraud," [Secretary of State Paul] Pate said. "The bill passed by both chambers accomplishes those goals and ensures every eligible Iowan will be able to cast their ballot and will not be turned away. I look forward to the governor signing the bill into law, and then the real work begins as we will coordinate with all 99 county auditors to implement this legislation, and institute our extensive outreach program so that every Iowan understands the provisions of this bill.” . . .  

Republicans said the bill has been crafted to address possible court challenges. They also point to a recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll which found 69 percent of Iowans support requiring an ID to vote. 

The bill outlines five forms of identification that would be valid at the polls, four of which include a photo. The fifth would be a new voter verification card the state and county would issue to every voter free of charge. Those who show up to the polls without valid ID could vote using a provisional ballot. . . . Most of the changes will take effect in 2019, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's office.

Governor Terry Brandstad is expected to sign the bill, as he has indicated his approval for voter ID laws.  We hope that Iowa adopts this important, common-sense protection of the integrity of its elections.  Unfortunately, although voter ID has wide support among Democrats and Republicans, liberal groups will inevitably challenge this law in a pointless waste of the courts' time and taxpayers' money.

Democrat Vote Fraud Allegations in Iowa Show Need for Partisian Observers

Following up on yesterday’s post, we have to again point out the hypocrisy of liberals on the issue of vote fraud.  As this story headlines, Iowa: Sanders Calls For Raw Vote Count Amid Reports Of Voter Fraud And Missing Votes:

Bernie Sanders has asked the Democratic Party to release a raw vote count from the Iowa caucuses due to concerns of voter fraud and missing votes.

Briefly, the details are:

Campaign aides for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Monday night that the Democratic Party did not collect the results of 90 Iowa precincts, which is about 5 percent of all votes cast in the state, because the party had failed to properly staff the precincts.

Rania Batrice, a spokeswoman for the campaign based in Iowa, said that the party reached out to the campaigns of Mr. Sanders and Hillary Clinton and asked them to help tally the results. “It’s just offensive that they dropped the ball like this,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”

While we do not know the merit of these allegations, it does point out the need for sunshine on the election process.  One of the best ways to guarantee sunshine is observers from both parties overseeing supposedly impartial election officials.  Often, poll watchers can help election officials.  While denying Sanders' allegations, the party needs exactly this sort of help as it is allegedly turning to the campaigns for answers:

"We have reached out to the campaigns for help in contacting the chairs for our outstanding precincts," the official said in a statement.

"We are not taking results from the campaigns. We are taking them from the chairs who are in these precincts."

The Iowa Democrats did not elaborate as to why the campaigns may have a better handle on where the party's precinct chairs are than the party itself.

While caucuses are a unique election system, elections generally are often messy affairs and the presence of trained observer, even a partisan one, can help with the process.

Liberals Look Gift Horse in Mouth as Iowa Moves to Enact Online Voter Registration

Iowa’s Voter Registration Commission is poised to adopt a rule that will allow the state to enact online voter registration for individuals who have a driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Iowa Department of Transportation. By the National Conference of State Legislature’s count, Iowa would be the 22^nd state to offer online voter registration.

It appears that the commission has the legal authority to enact the rule as opposed to when Minnesota Democrat Secretary of State Mark Ritchie unsuccessfully attempted to enact online voter registration without authorization from state legislature. Typically, we have seen state legislatures authorize online registration.  

Both the outgoing and incoming Republican Secretaries of State support the measure and it appears that it should be implemented in time for the 2016 election.

The Commission met today and heard from liberal groups that are already looking the gift horse in the mouth, complaining that the proposed online registration system shuts out some of Iowa’s voters:

"Voting should be made easier for all Iowans," said Joe Henry, state director for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa. "We are not in support of a photo identification requirement which we believe would make voting more difficult for low-income people."

Henry said more than one-third of Iowa's Latino population lives in poverty, which makes it less likely they drive or have a DOT-issued photo ID.

Another group affected by the ID requirement would be college students from other states who haven't obtained an Iowa driver's license, said Lina Murken, president of the League of Women Voters of Ames.

"We found that the DOT will not allow somebody who holds an out-of-state driver's license to get an Iowa ID or driver's license without relinquishing their out-of-state license," she said. "That would be a problem for those folks. It would be impossible for them to get the ID that would allow them access to the system."

While the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa supports online voter registration, the group wants changes to the regulation that would allow people without the photo ID to use the online system to register using other identification including the last four digits of their Social Security number, said Erica Johnson, Immigrants' Rights and Racial Justice Advocate for the group.

"There are safe, secure, effective ways to uniquely identify voters besides driver's numbers assigned through the DOT," she said.

The last line is particularly troubling as RNLA is skeptical that online voter registration can be secure when the system is untethered from an official state database such as the DMV. Would-be-voters in the DMV database have had to prove their identity in-person and possess the necessary unique credentials to be able to complete a voter registration transaction online without the risk of fraud. It's possible other state databases could be used but the technology does not appear to be there yet. 

RNLA supports online voter registration, subject to preconditions outlined in its report on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA). However, certain security and integrity measures need to be in place. Liberal groups ignore that the existing paper and NVRA-based voter registration system will continue in its present form, offering all eligible voters ample opportunity to register to vote. We simply cannot water down online voter registration at the risk of opening up the system to fraud. It is good to know that Iowa is moving forward on the right path.

Liberal complaints about the limitations of online voter registration has been an emerging issue in an otherwise bipartisan success story. It is just one of many examples of how Democrat and progressive groups are willing to sacrifice the integrity of our electoral system because of a perceived yet unrealized negative impact on their core constituencies.