02.28.02

Statement (as prepared) by Senator Maria Cantwell on the Photo ID provision in S. 565, Election Reform Legislation before the Senate

Mr. President,

"I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this amendment. I believe that this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed before we can pass this bill. I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the amendment.

"The bill as it is currently written forces states to rely on photo identification as a means of making sure first time voters are who they say they are. While I fully believe that we need to be vigilant in preventing fraud in our elections, I also believe that the provision as it is currently written goes too far in mandating a particular response, and has the real potential to result in fewer voters having their votes counted.

"The bill requires that voters who register by mail must show photo identification or a utility bill when they go to the polls for the first time. If they choose to vote by mail, as 64 percent of voters in my state did in the most recent election, they must make a photocopy of their photo identification and enclose it with their ballot.

"The burden of making a photocopy to enclose in the ballot presents a real hurdle for seniors and others including the disabled who vote from home because of their difficulty in getting to the polls. In addition, it simply does not improve security for mail-in ballots.

"The way that mail ballots are currently counted in my state is that the voter signs the outside of the envelope, attesting under penalty of perjury, that he or she is the person who cast the ballot, and properly registered to vote in the jurisdiction. When the ballot is received, the signature is carefully checked against the registration rolls to make certain that they match. Only then is the ballot counted.

"Unlike the signature, the election official receiving the photocopy has nothing to compare it against, and it is of no use in verifying the authenticity of the vote.

"But while the photocopy has little use to officials, if it is NOT included it disqualifies the ballot. That is correct, if the voter fails to include a photocopy that is of no use to the election official, the vote will still not be counted even though the signature on the ballot matches the signature in the registration rolls. This is simply unacceptable.

"This amendment fixes this problem by allowing states the option of relying on other methods to make certain that votes are valid, including signature verification which is currently used in my state and other states.

"While I am very concerned about passing this amendment to fix the problems that photo ID requirements create for voters who vote by mail, I am also concerned that the requirements will lead to serious problems for voters who go to the polls. The Secretary of State and other election officials in my state are concerned that the requirements place a huge burden on volunteer poll workers in the polling place, and a federal court has already ruled that this type of photo ID requirement may present a disparate impact on minorities seeking to have their votes counted. The right to vote is the most important right that we have as citizens, and it is important that we do everything that we can to make certain states can strike the proper balance between facilitating voting and preventing fraud. This amendment helps to do that.

"I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment and I believe that passage of this amendment is essential making certain that our electoral system is improved by this legislation.

"Thank you Mr. President.