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KY LEGISLATURE

Kentucky bill requiring photo ID to vote advances through Senate committee

Joe Sonka
Courier Journal

A bill requiring Kentuckians to have government-issued photo identification in order to vote passed through a Senate committee Wednesday and now heads to the full chamber.

The bill passed through the Senate Local Government Committee on a party-line vote of eight Republicans for and three Democrats against.

Touted as a means to increase public confidence in the election process and to prevent voter fraud through impersonation, Senate Bill 2 also provides free photo ID cards to those without a driver's license and a process for those without a photo ID to still cast a ballot.

Kentucky law currently allows eligible voters to cast a ballot if they present identification, but does not require such identification to include a photograph.

The bill that passed the committee Wednesday was amended from the original version of SB 2 filed two weeks ago, which faced criticism over a complicated provisional voting process and features making some college IDs insufficient to vote.

Update:Kentucky legislature: Photo ID bill advances but draws threat of legal challenge

Kentucky Republicans: Voter ID bill will 'increase confidence' in election process

Secretary of State Michael Adams (center) and Sen. Robby Mills (left), R-Henderson, spoke about Senate Bill 2 in committee on Wednesday.

Noting that Secretary of State Michael Adams could not cite any recent example of voter fraud through impersonation, such critics referred to the bill as "a solution in search of a problem" that would create unnecessary barriers to voting.

The amended version of SB 2 addressed some of those concerns, such as striking the provision requiring photo IDs to have an expiration date. Cards issued by the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky do not have such dates.

The original version of the bill also required people who show up to vote without a photo ID to sign an affidavit declaring a "reasonable impediment" to not having a photo ID in order to cast a provisional ballot, which would not count unless they presented their photo ID or a non-photo ID and additional affidavit to the county clerk's office by the Friday after the election.

The amended version of the bill states that eligible voters without a voter ID can now cast a regular ballot after signing the affidavit and do not have to follow up at the county clerk's office in order for their vote to count.

While the original version of SB 2 required voters to include a copy of their photo ID in  their request to receive an absentee ballot by mail, the amended version states that if a copy of the photo ID is not included, they will receive the reasonable impediment affidavit to sign and turn in along with the absentee ballot.

Adams told legislators he worked with critics of the bill over the past to weeks — including the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and the League of Women Voters — in order to make sure it is "fair, humane and constitutional."

"We want to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat," Adams said.

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Corey Shapiro, the legal director of the ACLU of Kentucky, told legislators that while he welcomes the amendments, his group still opposes the bill for adding barriers to voting despite no documented cases of in-person voter fraud in Kentucky this century.

Among the suggestions of critics that were not included in the amended bill was delaying its implementation date past the election this November, as Shapiro said these were complicated changes for voters and county clerks that should not be rushed.

While the bill also includes a list of acceptable reasons for not having a photo ID in the affidavit that must be signed by voters, Shapiro and critics also sought for a catch-all provision to be included.

Adams said delaying the bill past 2020 would mean it wouldn't go into effect until 2022, stressing his concerns about ballot integrity and possible foreign interference in the "high-profile" U.S. Senate race this year involving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"You’ve got a very competitive Senate seat and a very competitive election for essentially determining which party controls the Senate," Adams said. "You’re going to see potentially foreign actors, you’re going to potentially see domestic actors messing with this election. So, to me, I think it’s better to have this go into effect for 2020."

Referring to Adams' concern over foreign actors, Shapiro said: "I'm unaware of any foreign influence in the election, but more importantly, I'm not aware of any instances of in-person voter fraud — and certainly no allegations that there is somehow foreign influence that could cause in-person voter fraud."

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Casting his vote against SB 2, Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said the bill is unnecessarily "putting up roadblocks in front of people that will prevent them from voting."

"If you really want more people voting, then let’s codify the restoration of felon voting rights. Let’s include longer hours at the polls. Let’s allow for no excuse in-person absentee voting, and then let’s talk about these types of requirements.”

University of Kentucky law professor Joshua Douglas, one of the main critics of the original bill who worked with Adams on its changes, said he was "really happy" with the amendments, though he still thinks the bill is unnecessary.

"Although I don't think we need photo ID and it's still a solution in search of a problem, if we are going to have one, this bill is a lot better than the first version," said Douglas, adding that "there will not be very many people adversely affected." 

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.