From Nearly 30 to 3: Voter I.D Bill Makes it out of House Committee

In a 7 to 2 vote, the House Constitution, Campaigns and Election Committee gave a favorable report to a bill that would allow voters to show only government issued, photo identification at the polls.

If the bill becomes law, it would reduce the kind of identifying material that a person could possibly use to prove they are a voter from nearly 30 to 3.

And all three kinds of identification would have to be government issued.

State Rep. Kerry Rich, R-Albertville, is sponsoring the voter photo-I.D. bill, which is being pushed by Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman as a way to fight voter fraud.

The former two-term legislator who made his return to the State House on the Republican sweep of the 2010 election cycle told his colleagues that the bill would go a long way in streamlining the identification process that exists under current law.

In 2003, state legislators passed a law that allows voters to use nearly 30 forms of identification at the polls including bank statements and utility bills, as long as it had the voter's name on it. Under Rich's bill a voter would have to provide poll workers with picture identification issued by the state or federal government such as a driver's license, a non-driver identification card or military identification card.

The bill further provides that since the photo identification would be a requirement of the law, the state would provide, free of charge, state issued identification cards for those who would need them. A Legislative Fiscal Office analysis estimates those free cards and subsequent renewals and duplicates could cost the Alabama Department of Public Safety $750,000 (new) and $398,000 (renewals/duplicates), respectively, as they did in fiscal 2010.

Rich said he believes that most people use their driver's license when they go to the polls so it shouldn't cause any problems for about 99 percent of Alabamians. He said provisions that allow homebound elderly and those with disabilities to vote absentee ballot by using a witness or having them notarized wouldn't change. He said those who manage to forget their government issued photo identification on election day would still be allowed to vote provisional ballots, or they can have two certified poll workers sign an affidavit verifying their identity.

Two of the three Democrats on the committee, State Representatives Juandalynn Givan and Demetrius Newton, both of Birmingham, voted against the measure. State Rep. Richard Lindsey of Talladega voted for the measure after he amended it to make sure that probate judges would work with DPS to issue photo identification instead of the Secretary of State's Office.

-- Markeshia Ricks

Check out this list of current forms of identification considered acceptable at the polls in Alabama from the Secretary of State's Website:

A. Current, Valid Photo Identification

1. Government-issued photo identifications (current and valid)
2. Employee identification for employee with photo of employee produced by the employer
3. Photo identification card issued by Alabama college or university
4. Photo identification issued from Alabama technical or professional school (current and valid)
   

OR

B. One of the following

1. Utility bill of voter with voter's name and address
2. Bank statement with voter's name and address
3. Government check with voter's name and address
4. Paycheck with voter's name and address
5. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by the State of Alabama (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Alabama)
6. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by any of the other 49 states (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of that State)
7. Valid identification card (authorized by law) issued by the government of the United States of America (including any branch, department, agency, or entity of the federal government
8. Valid United States passport
9. Valid Alabama hunting license
10. Valid Alabama fishing license
11. Valid Alabama pistol/revolver permit
12. Valid pilot's license issued by the FAA or other authorized agency of the federal government
13. Valid United States military identification
14. Birth certificate (certified copy)
15. Valid Social Security card
16. Naturalization document (certified copy)
17. Court record of adoption (certified copy)
18. Court record of name change (certified copy)
19. Valid Medicaid card
20. Valid Medicare card
21. Valid electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card
22. Government document that shows the name and address of the voter