FREE CARDS TO BECOME AVAILABLE
LITTLE ROCK – The Senate passed legislation to require voters to present a photo ID in order to get a ballot and to set up a process by which voters can get a free identity card at their local county clerks’ office.
Senate Bill 2 takes effect Jan. 1, 2014. Acceptable forms of photo ID include a driver’s license, a passport, a student ID issued by an accredited college or university in Arkansas, a permit to carry a concealed handgun, a military identification document, an employee badge and a public assistance identification card.
SB 2 directs the Secretary of State to issue free voter identification cards, through local county clerks’ offices. To get a free voter ID card from the county clerk, a person would have to swear under oath that he or she does not have any proof of identity.
The bill only become effective after the legislature approves funding for the Secretary of State to issue free voter ID cards. The bill’s sponsor told reporters he estimated that it would take an appropriation of about $300,000 to set up the process.
When voting by absentee ballot, the voter must submit with the ballot a copy of his or her photo ID. Residents of nursing homes and long term care facilities would not have to show a photo ID, but they would have to show documentation from the facility administrator that they are residents. If the identity card has an expiration date, the voter can use it if it has not been expired for more than four years.
Lottery Scholarships
The Senate Education Committee advanced HB 1295 to restructure lottery scholarship amounts, to preserve the long-term financial stability of the Academic Challenge Scholarship program. If enacted, the bill would be the second change in scholarship amounts since Arkansas voters approved a state lottery. The first scholarships were for $5,000 a year for students at four-year universities and $2,500 for students at two-year colleges. Those amounts were later reduced to $4,500 and $2,225.
Under HB 1295, students already in the system would continue to get the same amounts that they first qualified for, but scholarships would be lower for students who enroll in college in the fall of 2013. Freshman would get $2,000 and if they maintain their eligibility they would get $3,000 as sophomores, $4,000 as juniors and $5,000 as seniors.
Students at two-year colleges, nursing schools and branch campuses of four-year institutions would get $2,000 each year.
Concealed Carry on Campus
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced HB 1243 to allow employees of colleges and universities to carry a concealed handgun on campus, if they have a concealed carry permit. Also, the institution would have to have a policy that allows staff to carry concealed firearms.
The governing board of the institution would have to vote on a policy every year to prohibit staff from carrying concealed weapons. The board could adopt differing policies for different areas or buildings of the campus, or for different campuses within its supervision.
Privacy for Concealed Carry Permit Holders
SB 131, to prevent the names and zip codes of concealed carry permit holders from being made public under the state Freedom of Information Act, has passed both chambers. The governor said he would allow it to become law without his signature. It passed the House by a vote of 64-to-3 and the Senate by a vote of 24-to-9.
(Jason Rapert is the state senator representing Faulkner County. He can be reached at Jason.Rapert@senate.ar.gov or at 336-0918)
Comments (5)
Add commentVoter ID Laws
Keep in mind that the Voter ID Law has only passed the Senate. It is not yet law. It still has to be reviewed by the House State Agencies Committee (not on Arkansas Legislature calendar this week for some reason). And then passed by the full House.
The column as outlined by Rapert does not include information you need to know about this bill.
Voters who do not present the proscribed ID will be required to cast a provisional ballot and their vote will not count unless they return to the county clerk or election commission by noon on the Monday following the election with proof of identity or an affidavit.
Voter ID laws have been called a solution without a problem. They only serve to prevent voter impersonation which is practically non-existent. A 2011 nationwide analysis found 10 cases of voter impersonation since 2000. With 146 million registered voters in the US, that is about one for every 15 million prospective voters.
On the other hand, the costs of implementing such a system and, more importantly, the disenfranchisement of voters will be substantial. Studies show that as many as 11 percent of eligible voters do not have government-issued photo IDs. That percentage is even higher for seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, low-income voters and students. Many citizens find it hard to get government photo IDs, because the underlying documentation like birth certificates (the ID one needs to get ID) is often difficult or expensive to come by.
The problems with our voting systems will not be addressed by SB2. Instead, improvements in voting technology and modernization of our voter registration system will increase efficiency and effectively prevent mistakes and fraud.
REALLY
an employee badge
Because it seem that an employee badge would be one of the easiest thing to forge.
This is just a waste of tax dollars.
.
Sure
If you believe that voter fraud does not happen I have some ocean front property in Conway to sell you. There needs to be a data base created to cross reference votes to death certificates.
I forgot to add
Why is it that so many people object to showing an ID to vote. I had to show one to cash a check at my own bank.
"A solution without a problem"
Voter ID is already required for registration and/or the first casting of a ballot according to Amendment 51 of the Arkansas Constitution:
"If your voter registration application form is submitted by mail and you are registering for the first time, and you do not have a valid driver's license number or social security number, in order to avoid the additional identification requirements upon voting for the first time you must submit with the mailed registration form: (a) a current and valid photo identification; or (b) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address."
Therefore, since ID is required to register to vote (or cast the first ballot after registering), it shouldn't be a problem to continue to provide ID.
The argument that it's too difficult for certain individuals to obtain identification is simply not true when you consider the number of reasons that those individuals must already have some form of ID.
Seniors: must have ID to qualify for Medicare/Social Security
People of color: the idea that someone of color cannot obtain ID is an absurd argument on it's face
People with disabilities: If they are receiving medical care, their health care providers would require ID, and if receiving governmental assistance, then the government would require it as well.
Low-income voters: can receive government-issued ID free of charge
Students: would have already had to provide ID to enroll in their respective educational facility
County clerks could and should be able to provide a photo ID to those without one at the time of voter registration. This would be an excellent modernization of our voter registration system that has yet to be implemented anywhere in the state.
OR
Just add a photo to the book you look up "Joe Blow" and see what precinct he is in and BLAM there is his photo rt there in the book. One time you ask for an ID and then the county takes it's own photo for their records.
NO MORE PROBLEM
It would be a simple request wouold you like your photo added to our records to save time or would you rather produe an ID each time you vote.
Either way is not a problem for me I have 3 or more quailifying ID's on me at any given time.