Arkansans would be required to provide photo identification to vote under two pieces of legislation proposed for the 2013 legislative session.
Rep. Bryan King, R-Berryville - who will be a new senator when the session starts - filed a Senate bill and a proposed constitutional amendment late Wednesday that would require voters to show IDs to vote. Now, poll workers ask for identifying documents, but voters are not required to show them.
Under Arkansas Code Annotated 7-5-305, poll workers may ask a voter for a photo identification card or “a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and address of thevoter.”
If the voter doesn’t have any of those documents, he’s still allowed to vote, but the poll worker notes on the voter registration list that the voter didn’t provide identification.
After the election, county election commissioners may review the list and give it to the prosecuting attorney, according to the law.
King said county election commissioners have shared stories about witnessing voter fraud, but he couldn’t point to any specific case where a person was prosecuted for pretending to be another voter.
“We’ve had voter impersonation happening in Arkansas, never prosecuted,” King said. “You know the reality is a lot of these prosecutors won’t prosecute voter fraud in any case and they have political consequences. This is something that has just never been looked into, it’s never been pursued.”
Holly Dickson, staff attorney for the Arkansas American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc., said she isn’t aware of any case of voter impersonation being prosecuted but she hasn’t heard of prosecutors ignoring the issue either.
“We’ve made that point in the past. Where’s the problem? You’re proposing a solution, but there’s not a problem,” Dickson said by phone.
She said state law already requires first-time voters to show identification when they register to vote or when they show up at the polls if they registered by mail.
Dickson said that for years the foundation has opposed increasing that requirement in Arkansas and other states because of concerns that it will either keep people from voting or make it more difficult.
“Voter ID laws that have been implemented have not done anything in terms of protecting the integrity of elections. They’ve disenfranchised voters,” she said. “The first amendment protects the right to vote, and we take that seriously.”
King said he disagreed that requiring photo identification keeps people from going to the polls.
“This is simple and clearcut,” King said. “Obviously there must be something other than ‘it’s an obstacle to voters,’ because the reality is it’s not an obstacle to vote. There’s a reason why opponents don’t want this to happen, and it’s not the pristine argument that this is going to disenfranchise voters.”
He said many voters already assume that they are required to present identification.
King is trying to pass the measure as a Senate bill and as a constitutional amendment.
SB2 would require anyone voting in person to present photo identification; and if voting by mail, to present a copy of photo identification or a current utility bill, paycheck or government document that shows the name and address of the voter.
A resident of a licensed nursing home, licensed residential-care facility, licensed assisted-living facility or any licensed facility that provides long-term medical or personal care would not have to provide proof of identity to vote, but would have to get a facility administrator to vouch that the person lives there.
The bill defines proof of identity as government-issued identification that shows the person’s name, photographand has an expiration date.
It also instructs the secretary of state’s office to create rules requiring county clerks to issue voter-identification cards at no cost to individuals who don’t have valid Arkansas driver’s licenses.
King would not estimate how much it would cost taxpayers to produce the voter cards.
A voter who could not provide identification would be allowed to vote by provisional ballot. The ballot would be counted only if the voter returned to the county board of election commissioner by noon on the Monday after the election and presented photo identification or an affidavit stating that the voter has no identification because he is poor or has a religious objection to being photographed. The ballot would be counted only if it was not challenged.
Dickson called the provisional ballots “burdensome.”
“If a person has no other responsibilities or things to do, that might be functional,” Dickson said. “Working families, it can be difficult enough for them to get out to vote.”
If approved by legislators, the proposal would go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, or when funding for the identification cards becomes available.
Senate Joint Resolution 1, would amend the Arkansas Constitution to requirethe Legislature to pass laws making voters present photo identification. The secretary of state would be required to help county clerks issue identification cards to people who do not have them. The amendment would require those who do not present identifications to verify their identities later to have their ballots counted.
The Legislature can refer up to three proposed constitutional amendments to the voters.
King said he wants his measure to be approved both as a Senate bill and as a constitutional amendment. He said the constitutional amendment would make it harder for the state Supreme Court to overturn the requirement.
King filed similar legislation last session. House Bill 1797 passed 53-36 in the House with 10 members not voting but failed to get out of the Senate’s Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 33 states this year have laws requiring voters to show some kind of identifications, though three laws are tangled in court or have not been implemented.
Arkansas is one of 13 states that requires identification, but not photo identification, to vote, according to the conference.
If King’s bill passes, Arkansas would join nine states that do not count ballots of voters to fail to show identification at the polls and fail to return with it later. Those states are Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/14/2012