The Indy Star has an article entitled Voter ID law looming for Hoosiers. SB 483 is being sent to the Governor and there is every indication he will sign it. Under that bill, Indiana will have the strictest identification requirements in the state. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Victor Heinold, R-Valparaiso, said the bill is needed to guard against voter fraud. “I want everyone in this state to have the right to vote — one time,” Heinold said. But, as Senator Lutz of Evansville pointed out, the only indication of voter fraud we have involves absentee ballots and this bill does nothing to address absentee ballots. In fact, if memory serves, the Republicans voted against amendments that would have tightened up absentee ballot provisions. Other states that have this sort of identity requirement allow more flexibility than just state or federal ID. Affidavits and school IDs and other sorts of IDs tend to be allowed.
Proponents of the bill note that it has a provision that allows a free state ID to be issued.
“Everyone is saying all you have to do is go get a free ID,” Falk said.
They forget, he said, that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has made it harder to get that ID by requiring the person to show several pieces of identification that some people don’t have, such as a utility bill and a birth certificate. And, he said, it costs money to obtain a birth certificate, while voting should be free.
I suspect Republicans like the bill and Democrats don’t like the bill because historically Republicans have done better with fewer people voting. This will depress voter participation to a greater or lesser degree.
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