By Suzi Parker
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 13 (Reuters) – Arkansas lawmakers,
following the lead of other legislators across the country,
approved a measure on Wednesday to require voters to show photo
identification before they can cast a ballot.
The measure passed on a 51-44 vote in the
Republican-controlled state House with support from one
Democrat. It now returns to the Senate, which approved a similar
measure, for a vote on an amendment.
Democratic Governor Mike Beebe has not said whether he would
sign the bill into law and have Arkansas join the nearly three
dozen states that have similar laws on the books, according to
the National Conference of State Legislatures. Legal challenges
to those laws are pending in several states where the measures
have passed.
“We’re reviewing the legal issues with voter ID laws that
have been raised in other states and plan to consult with the
attorney general,” said Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample.
Under current Arkansas law, poll workers can request
identifying documents, but voters are not required to show them.
If the bill becomes law, photo ID cards would be made by county
clerks at no cost for registered voters who don’t have other
valid forms of identification. The state Bureau of Legislative
Research has reported it would cost the state an additional
$300,000.
If the bill becomes law, voters without an ID could still
cast a provisional ballot, which would be counted if the voter
returned with photo identification.
The Arkansas bill was challenged by opponents in the House,
who argued that the state’s constitution requires a two-thirds
supermajority on the measure because it affects the state
constitution’s voting amendment.
But earlier Wednesday, the House Rules Committee voted that
the bill was properly referred to the House from the Senate on a
23-12 vote.
Rita Sklar, director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said that the
ACLU will fight the measure if it becomes law.
“It has been shown in state after state that such laws do
disenfranchise voters,” Sklar said. “It could disenfranchise
hundreds of thousands of voters in Arkansas particularly the
elderly, people with disabilities, young people and minorities
all of whom are less likely to have photo ID.”
The bill’s supporters said it would eliminate the
possibility of voter fraud and the increase the legitimacy of
elections.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Tom Brown and Eric
Walsh)
