Legislative committee splits on voter ID, clean elections bills

AUGUSTA — A legislative committee deadlocked Friday on two increasingly partisan issues: Requiring voters to show photo ID before casting ballots and eliminating public campaign financing for gubernatorial candidates.

The 6-6 votes in the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee – with one lawmaker absent – means the measures will likely receive considerable debate on the House and Senate floors. In both cases, all of the committee’s Republican members voted in support of the “voter ID” bill and to stop allowing candidates for governor to receive so-called “clean elections” financing. All of the Democrats plus one independent lawmaker opposed the bills. The absent lawmaker, Bangor Rep. John Schneck, is a Democrat.

The “voter ID” bill, L.D. 121, is similar to a proposal that passed the Senate but failed in the Democratic-controlled House two years ago. The bill would require voters to display a photo identification issued by the state, the federal government, a Maine college or university, or an electronic benefits transfer – or EBT – card used for food stamps or other welfare benefits. Voters who cannot provide a photo ID could cast a provisional ballot, but that vote would only be counted if the person’s identity is subsequently confirmed.

Voter ID has become a popular issue among Republicans nationwide who argue that voters should have to provide the same level of proof that can be required of someone attempting to buy alcohol or attend an R-rated movie.

Read more: http://www.pressherald.com/2017/03/03/legislative-committee-splits-on-voter-id-clean-elections-bills/