Registering to vote could require ID

Casting a ballot may require a birth certificate, driver's license, or friendship with the voting judge.

A bill that critics worry will cause significant hardship for voters, especially the disabled, senior citizens and the poor, narrowly passed a Senate committee Tuesday. Supporters of the bill, however, hope that it can address perceived abuses of the voting system, including ballots being cast by illegal immigrants.

Under the provisions of SB200, which passed the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee 3-2, people registering to vote for the first time in Utah would be required to prove their citizenship with an official document, such as a birth or naturalization certificate. The goal, said sponsoring Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, is to ensure that ballots are cast only by legal citizens of the United States and residents of Utah.

"We need to do something to protect the integrity of the voting system," Madsen said. "I want every person to vote, but I want to make sure they're citizens."

The bill comes a year after a legislative audit showed 14 undocumented immigrants voted in the 2004 election. The survey was used to legitimize legislation lawmakers passed last year requiring undocumented workers to be issued a driving privilege card, instead of a driver's license, that could not be used as ID.

Under Madsen's proposal, registered voters would also need to prove their identity at the polls with documents such as a driver's license or passport, or they would have to cast a provisional ballot. That requirement would be waived, however, if the election judge "personally knows" the voter.

Election officials warned that requiring the proof of citizenship could cause a number of problems. For example, voter registration drives, which are often done by volunteer groups, would have to make copies of citizenship documents. Also, more voters would probably cast absentee ballots — which do not require identification for registered voters — that could increase the workload for county clerks and delay election results.

The new requirements could also mean that people wanting to register would have to go to the county clerk's office, which could prove difficult to people without transportation or who work during the clerk's office hours. In fact, the new requirements "are onerous for county clerks, and onerous for the electorate," Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, said.

"Voting is not a privilege, it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution and it should be available to all equally," Davis said. "I commend you in wanting to make sure that only citizens vote. But it should not be a burden to those who have the right to vote."

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, said that the right to vote was not something that should be taken lightly. If people need to put in a little extra work, it was not necessarily a bad thing.

"What I'm hearing is that voting should be a casual pastime," Christensen said. "But it's a privilege, and with privilege comes responsibility."

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