Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Bill to require photo ID when voting fails

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 23, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  

More Colorado Government

More stories »

A stream of witnesses who aid elderly, homeless and disabled people testified Thursday that a bill requiring photo identification when voting would create havoc for their clients.

They said not all Coloradans eligible to vote have picture IDs, and obtaining them can be difficult and expensive.

House Bill 1115, by Rep. Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, was one of three election bills heard by the House State Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. Summers' bill failed.

Linda Olson, with Colorado Legal Services, said her group spent $80,000 last year in tracking down documents that clients needed to get ID cards from the state. In one case, it took two years to get someone identification.

"From my real life experience, there are many elderly and disabled who will not be able to get photo IDs," she said.

Backers of the bill included El Paso County Clerk Bob Balink, long a fan of photo ID requirements.

Under the current law, voters can present non-photo forms of ID, including a utility bill or bank statement that shows name and address, or a certified copy of a birth certificate issued in the United States.

Summers' bill would have eliminated some of those forms.

The bill "went down in flames on a party-line vote like I anticipated," Summers said.

"I still think it is an issue that needs to be addressed," he said afterward. "Public policy needs to reflect integrity."

The committee also heard:

* HB 1018, by Rep. Laura Bradford, R-Collbran, which removes obsolete language implementing the statewide voter registration and election system. It passed and now will be debated by the full House.

* HB 1015, by Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock, the former Douglas County clerk and recorder, allows counties to conduct mail ballot elections for primary elections. It also requires election officials to cancel uncontested primary elections under certain conditions and declare the candidate the party's nominee.

The committee heard testimony on the bill and will take action next week.

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327

DEALING WITH RED TAPE

Catherine Hazouri, director of the Colorado chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told a House committee Thursday her group opposes a bill that would require voters to present a photo ID. She outlined steps she took to get her driver's license replaced after losing her wallet last year:

* Hazouri wrote to the state of Florida and requested a copy of her birth certificate.

* Florida replied that she needed a photo ID.

* An attorney, Hazouri had a longtime acquaintance sign an affidavit that she was Catherine L. Hazouri.

* Florida complied after three requests.

* Colorado motor vehicle officials turned Hazouri away because of ID problems, despite the fact she had a Colorado driver's license for decades.

* Hazouri had to go through legal archives to find a copy of her divorce decree.

* ID problems still lingered because by now she was going by Catherine, instead of her nickname "Cathy."

* After three months, Hazouri got her new driver's license.

Comments

  • January 23, 2009

    3:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    JustSayin writes:

    My wife stopped by a motor vehicle office last Thursday, early a.m., filled out her paperwork and got the process for her picture ID card (she doesn't drive) done and over with in about an hour. Gets the real thing sent to her in a few weeks.

    You slackers have about a year 'til the next election. What's the big deal? Even the 'horror story' told by the witness with an agenda indicates her getting an ID eventually.