Not only is it free Baskin Robbins day on the Hill today, but HB0639, the bill that would have required a photo ID to vote, failed in the House Elections Subcommittee this morning! Thanks to Chairman Eddie Yokley (D-Greenville, the Fightin’ 11th!) and Rep. Gary Moore (D-Joelton, the Fightin’ 50th!) who voted no, and Rep. Harry Tindell (D-Knoxville, the Fightin’ 13th!) who voted “no” and correctly labeled the bill as a “poll tax.”
A shout out to Speaker Kent Williams (R-Carter County, the Fightin’ 4th!) too, who wandered in to break the tie on HB1841 (which would urge the state executive committees to jointly establish a calendar of appearances of its gubernatorial candidates in all 95 counties), but who stayed just long enough to ask all the right questions about the constitutionality of the bill’s exceptions and the lack of tangible evidence of voter fraud in the state.
“We need legislation to prevent fraud,” Speaker Williams said, “But I’m not sure your vehicle is the right vehicle.” And then, *poof,* he was gone, leaving the meeting before the vote and without breaking the tie that would have moved the bill out of committee.
Rep. Tindell asked all the right questions and touched on all the salient points including the requirement that the ID be government issue only; the cost – in effort, time and coin – of obtaining such an ID; the number of people in the state who do not have a photo ID; the problem with provisional ballots; and the lack of fairness inherent in the legislation (if it’s going to be required, than it needs to be free for everyone):
Also written into the bill was an exception that would have allowed a voter to be excused from presenting a photo ID by signing a sworn statement of indigency. State Coordinator Goins and Rep. Tindell went head to head on the automatic loophole set up by this exception:
More importantly, though, if it’s enough for some of us to simply sign a sworn statement for their votes to count without having to show a photo ID, then why isn’t is OK for the rest of us?
Rep. Yokley once again made reference to the illegality of voter fraud and the stiff penalty attached – it’s a felony, don’t you know, punishable by a fine and a stiff jail sentence. And even though there is currently no one in jail for committing voter fraud, the proof offered by the Coordinator Goins that voter fraud exists was the famous Oh-My-God-Dead-People-In-Shelby-County-Voted-in-the-Opehlia-Ford-Senate-Election.
But what we know about that case is that the three people who plead guilty to faking votes – “two of them cast in the names of dead people” – were poll workers, not voters. And fraud by poll workers is election fraud – not voter fraud.
And it’s the poll workers who would be checking photo IDs.
Free ice cream two days in a row and a dead photo ID bill. This is the Best Week Ever!
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