House lawmakers delay voter ID bill

PROVIDENCE—Voters in Rhode Island would have to show a photo ID before getting a ballot on Election Day under a bill that House lawmakers expect to consider next week.

The legislation proposed by Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, a Democrat, was originally set for a vote Tuesday until Democratic legislative leaders delayed it so they could revise a list of identification cards that would be accepted at polling stations. House members plan to consider the bill May 27.

Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woonsocket and a bill sponsor, said enough support exists to pass the measure in the House. He said it was necessary to prevent voter fraud. A similar version is pending in the Senate.

“It’s so important to prove that you are who you say you are when you go to vote,“ Brien said.

Mollis and supporters in the Legislature pushed for the bill after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states can legally require voters to show identification as long as the requirements are not excessive or burdensome on any class of voters. At least 25 states require some form of ID.

If adopted, the legislation would require a voter to show either a driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, Medicare card or another form of ID. The requirement would take effect next year. Voters would have to show a photo ID, beginning in 2012.

Under the measure, election authorities would issue free ID cards to voters who request one. Those who fail to bring identification to the polls could cast a provisional ballot and local election officials would determine afterward if the voter’s signature matches the one in their registration documents.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has urged legislators to reject the measure, saying that polling workers already ask for a voter’s name and check it against registration lists. Steven Brown, executive director of the state ACLU, said he was unaware of anyone accused of impersonating a voter in the last decade.

“It’s just putting an extra hurdle in front of people’s right to vote,“ he said.