ID could be required for federal elections
Published Sept. 26, 2006
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would require participants in federal elections to present approved forms of identification in order to vote.
"The appropriate state or local election official may not provide a ballot for an election for federal office to an individual who desires to vote in person unless the individual presents to the official — a government-issued, current, and valid photo identification," the bill states.
According to the bill, a form of identification is government-issued if it is "issued by the federal government or by the government of a state."
The bill, which passed 228-196, allows for the same types of identification to be used at the polls as the Missouri Voter ID law that was overturned earlier this month.
Cole County Circuit Judge Robert Callahan ruled that Missouri's voter identification requirements placed too much of a burden on the poor and elderly, and thus compromised their constitutional right to vote.
If passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Bush, the bill would go into effect in 2008.
It is unlikely, though, that the Senate will take up the matter because it is set to adjourn in two weeks.
The bill also provides funds to states to distribute non-driver's license ID's that meet the criteria to be used as identification at the polls.
Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., voted in favor of the bill. The 9th district, which Hulshof represents, includes Columbia.