Voter ID Repeal (H 5776, S 0359)

The ACLU of RI testified before the Senate and House Judiciary committees in support of legislation repealing the state’s voter ID law. Voter ID was passed in 2011 over the opposition of a number of community advocacy and open government groups who expressed concern that it would impact the right to vote for those individuals least likely to have identification or the documents necessary to obtain ID, including the elderly, minorities, students, and the disabled. The law was to be implemented in two phases: a non-photo ID requirement to take effect in 2012, and a photo-ID-only requirement to begin in 2014. With difficulties faced by voters during the 2012 elections, the ACLU supported efforts to repeal the law before the more stringent photo ID requirement takes effect.  In response, House leaders discussed passing a compromise version of the legislation that would freeze the voter ID law at its current non-photo ID requirements. As the bill was passed out of committee in amended form, however, (H 5776A), it did something quite different – it actually made the law more restrictive by further limiting the types of IDs that would be acceptable at the polls in 2014.  Following objections by the ACLU and a number of other advocacy groups, the amended bill was recommitted. The ACLU will be back next year to seek the law’s repeal once again.