Voter ID

On the more positive side, no action was taken on legislation requiring individuals to provide certain forms of identification in order to vote at the polling booth. A voter ID requirement can serve as a poll tax, disenfranchising eligible voters and posing a particular burden on poor, elderly, disabled and minority voters who may not have the requisite ID or the ability to obtain the necessary documents for one. The ACLU helped organize a coalition of civil rights and community groups – ranging from the AARP to the Commission for Human Rights – to oppose the bill. Ominously, however, Secretary of State Ralph Mollis has continued to tout voter ID as an appropriate measure to address the “perception” of voter fraud in the state, despite the complete lack of any actual evidence of such fraud in local elections.