Cloture attempt on voter ID bill fails

Senators rejected a cloture motion March 28 that would have forced a vote on a bill that would require presentation of identification prior to voting in a Nebraska election.

Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen, sponsor of LB239, said he introduced the measure to protect the integrity and reliability of the state’s electoral system. Requiring identification would be reasonable, he said, adding that many of his constituents are surprised to learn that photo ID is not required.

Janssen said 15 states currently require photo identification and 16 others require at least some form of ID in order to cast a ballot.

“We’ve had races in our state that have been determined by one vote,” Janssen said. “I would hate to think that one illegal vote turned the tide in those [elections].”

Under the bill as introduced last session, a voter who does not present identification at the polls but casts a provisional ballot would have 10 days to submit government-issued photographic identification to the election commissioner in order for the ballot to be counted.

The bill also would provide exemptions for nursing home residents, voters with religious objections to being photographed and individuals who sign a statement that they are indigent and unable to obtain government-issued photographic identification.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would offer a state identification card at no cost to indigent voters who wish to obtain photographic identification.

A pending Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment would replace the bill and provide an alternative to a photo ID in the form of a registration acknowledgment card.

Under the amendment, the election commissioner or county clerk would mail a registration acknowledgment to every registered voter who does not have a motor vehicle operator’s license or state ID card prior to every statewide primary and general election.

A voter would not be handed a ballot at any election until he or she has presented a government-issued photographic identification or an acknowledgment of registration. A person who did not present identification at the polling place would be allowed to vote provisionally.

Individuals who vote via early ballot or in an election held by mail would not be required to show identification under the amendment.

Janssen said approximately 2 percent of registered voters in Nebraska do not have a driver’s license or state ID, and that allowing use of registration acknowledgment cards would be an effective compromise to protect those individuals’ right to vote.

Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha said studies should be done to discover if voter fraud is an issue in Nebraska before laws are passed to combat it – especially if those laws infringe upon a constitutional right.

“Let’s not punish those who have done nothing illegal,” he said. “Voting is our most fundamental right – it determines what our government will look like.”

Omaha Sen. Tanya Cook likened the bill to attempts by southern states to disenfranchise African-Americans following the Civil War.

“You’re forgetting your history – your American history,” she said. “This [bill] is Jim Crow lite. Don’t try to say that it is anything else, at least not to me.”

Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln also opposed the bill, saying it would place a disproportionate burden on the state’s poor, elderly, disabled and student populations. Nebraska should be seeking ways to encourage voting, he said, not creating impediments to voter participation by certain groups.

“This bill is a step back in time and we don’t need it,” Avery said.

Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha supported the measure, saying comparisons to Jim Crow laws were “patently offensive.” The bill would not unduly burden potential voters, he said, adding that requiring identification should not be a deterrent to voters.

“Anyone who would be dissuaded or disenfranchised by this [bill] would be dissuaded by a rainy day,” Lautenbaugh said.

Omaha Sen. John Nelson also supported the bill, saying it was based on recommendations for strengthening elections outlined in a 2005 report on federal election reform. He said the bill would be a first step toward ensuring that Nebraska elections are not tainted by voter fraud.

Omaha Sen. Brenda Council offered an amendment to the committee amendment, that would have extended the option of conducting an all-mail ballot election to all counties in Nebraska. Currently, counties with a population of fewer than 10,000 have the option of all-mail ballot elections.

Council said allowing some counties to conduct elections by mail – in which presentation of ID is not required – while prohibiting other counties from doing so, would create separate classes of voters.

Mello supported Council’s amendment. Without it, he said, LB239 would create two separate systems of voting law dependent on geography.

“We cannot allow a separate but unequal election system in this state,” Mello said.

The Council amendment failed on an 8-27 vote.

After eight hours of debate spanning three days, Janssen offered a motion to invoke cloture, an attempt to cease debate and force a vote on the bill. The motion failed 30-16, three votes short of the number required for adoption.

A failed cloture motion results in debate on a bill ceasing for the day.