Voter ID Bill Over the Past Decade

The Texas Voter ID bill has been stalled as of March 22^nd. The Democrats fighting against the bill were able to buy more time for debate after pointing out an error in the bill. Representative Rafael Anchia challenged a provision in the bill that would allow voters without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot if they product an acceptable photo ID within six days. Anchia wanted the clarification on whether those six days are calendar or business days (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/22/texas-voter-id-temporarily-derailed-clerical-error/).

            Over the past decade, the voter identification issue has been an issue around the United States. The following is a listing of the states over the past decades that have adopted a voter identification bill. The National Conference of State Legislatures provides this list.

•                2003:  New voter ID laws were passed in Alabama, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota

•                2005:  New voter ID laws were passed in Indiana, New Mexico and Washington; Georgia tightened an existing voter ID law to require photo ID

•                2006:  New voter ID law passed in Ohio; Georgia passed a law providing for the issuance of voter ID cards at no cost to registered voters who do not have a driver's license or state-issued ID card; Missouri tightened an existing voter ID law to require photo ID

•                2008:  New Mexico relaxed an existing voter ID law, and now allows a voter to satisfy the ID requirement by stating his/her name, address as registered, and year of birth

•                2009:  New voter ID law passed in Utah

•                2010:  New voter ID law passed in Idaho; Oklahoma voters approved a voter ID proposal placed on the ballot by the Legislature

            The increase in Republications in the 2010 elections has contributed to the proposed voter ID bills in Kansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Texas.

-Charli Henderson