Oklahoma voters will soon be required to show ID when heading to the polls after July 2011, thanks to a law that they overwhelmingly approved Tuesday.
State Question 746 requires all voters who are casting ballots in person to prove identity by presenting valid, photographic, government issued ID or the voter registration card issued by voter’s election board. Any voter who declines to show either forms of ID would be allowed to sign an affidavit and vote provisionally.
The law is already facing challenges regarding constitutionality.
According to a KOSU report, “University of Tulsa School of Law Professor James C. Thomas is filing a lawsuit saying it interferes with a person’s right to vote which goes against the Oklahoma constitution.
“’They might not be totally disenfranchised, but they have to go through additional steps to exercise their freedom of suffrage.’”
Oklahoma will join 10 other states that require photo ID at the polls, including Idaho, which just implemented it’s law on Tuesday with reportedly few issues, though the state had been criticized for confusing its voters on the extent of the law.
Idaho Secretary of State Ben “Ysursa said he hadn’t heard of any election issues,” according to the Idaho Reporter. “He also said that the new voter ID law was carried out properly, and that not a large number of voters used the affidavits available to people without ID who still want to vote.”
However, that assessment could be skewed, not only because of the typical low-turnout midterm election, but also due to the lack of clear information on the extent of the law. The state was recently criticized for misleading “Bring your I.D. and VOTE” ads that did not indicate voters without ID could still vote if they signed an affidavit.
“These ads are misleading, they don’t explain the new law and could have an impact on elderly voters in Idaho who don’t have a valid I.D. but are registered to vote,” said Jim Wordelman, state director for AARP in Idaho, in an October 29 press release. “The changes in law need to be clearly communicated to the public – these ads don’t accomplish the goal and it is our hope they don’t result in deterring some older voters from going to the polls.”