Bill to Prevent Election Fraud Clears Senate

Legislation to prevent election fraud has won the support of the full Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 1150, was approved Thursday. Sen. John Ford, principal author of the bill, said it would simply require voters to show some form of identification at the polls.

“You can’t write a check or board an airplane without proof of your identity, but when it comes to deciding who will run our state or our nation, we have nothing in place to verify the person voting is who they say they are,” Ford said. “My bill will simply help ensure the integrity of the process by verifying the person at the polls is who they say they are.”

Ford’s legislation would allow voters to present a valid identification card, driver license, passport, state identification card, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck, or any other government document showing the voter’s name and address.

“Opponents argue that requiring identification will stop people from voting. I don’t buy that argument. Requiring a person to show identification to write a check at the store certainly doesn’t keep people from buying groceries,” said Ford, who represents Craig, Nowata and Washington Counties. “If they don’t have a driver license they can use a phone or electric bill. It won’t place an undue burden on voters, but it can help us prevent fraud.”

SB 1150 now moves to the House of Representatives.