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Lawmaker confident bill requiring ID at polls will pass

by: The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 02, 2008


OKLAHOMA CITY -- One of the first bills filed in the new Republican-led Senate will require voters to show photo identification or their state-issued voter ID card before they can cast ballots in Oklahoma elections.

Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, feels there is a good chance the bill will pass in the upcoming 2009 legislative session, now that Republicans hold a 26-22 advantage in the Senate. It takes 25 votes to pass a bill in the 48-member chamber.

A less restrictive measure by Ford died earlier this year on a party-line vote, when the Senate was tied, with Democrats and Republicans each having 24 members.

"Basically, this bill says that if you vote in person on election day, or the three days prior to election day, then you are required to show a photo ID," Ford said. "That photo ID must be issued by the federal government, the state government or a tribal entity. In lieu of a photo ID, the voter may show their state-issued voter ID card."

In statewide elections, Oklahoma voters can cast ballots in person at county election boards on Friday, Saturday and Monday before the Tuesday election day, when precinct voting takes place.

The push for voter ID legislation comes after a presidential election during which allegations of voter registration fraud were raised in several states.

Ford discounts arguments that requiring identification will hinder some elderly or minority voters.

"We don't want to disfranchise anybody. We don't want to make it overly difficult," he said.

Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, fought the legislation last year, saying it could lead to some voters staying home.

"I'm still opposed to the bill for the same reasons. It is going to help Republicans and it is going to hurt Democrats," Wilson said.

He said many people don't carry their voter ID cards with them and do not have photo identification. He said the bill will suppress the vote among the elderly and among minorities.

Besides, Wilson said, there is no reason to pass the bill. "There's no documentation of any fraud anywhere in the voting system," he said.

Ford said the vast majority of his constituents feel the bill "is the right thing to do" and can't believe someone can vote without proving they are who they say they are.

He said provisional ballots can be used if someone shows up without identification. "No one will be turned away from the polls," he said.

Ford said his bill will "ensure the fairness of the process" and may encourage increased turnout if people "believe it is a fair and open system and that their vote is truly going to count."



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