Rhode Island legislators are considering a bill that would make it easier for some voters who fail to bring identification to the poll to have their votes counted. Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Dist. 3, and Sen. Paul Moura, D-Dist. 18, introduced the legislation in response to voters caught unaware by a requirement that they verify their identity before voting in last November's election.
Last November, changes to Rhode Island voting procedures required many voters to show proof of identity at polling stations. The change required voters who registered by mail to verify their identity, either on mail-in registration form or at the polls. Without proper proof of identity - delivered mail, drivers' licenses or other formal documentation - many voters were turned away from polling stations and told they could not vote, Ajello said.
Under the legislation, voters who do not verify their identity on the mail-in forms would receive notification 40 to 60 days before an election that such proof is required to vote. If voters fail to produce such proof on Election Day, they would be allowed 48 hours to submit identification.
Confusion at Rhode Island polls last November brought three election disputes to litigation, said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU. Close races in Cranston, East Providence and Portsmouth may have been affected by voters lacking the correct identification to vote, he said. The resulting close elections ended with judicial action. Of the six candidates affected by this action, five support the legislation, Brown said.
"We think it's a very important piece of legislation," Brown said. "This legislation would go a long way to making sure that people who show up at the polling stations get their vote counted."
"We see this bill as a step towards winning the trust of Rhode Islanders who might not otherwise vote," said Meghan Purvis of Ocean State Action, a civil justice organization.
But the bill doesn't lack opposition. Robert Kando, executive director of Rhode Island's Board of Elections, said the bill unfairly puts pressure on government agencies to count incorrectly submitted votes. The proposed legislation asks the Board to overstep their current role in tallying votes, he said.
"They want us to entertain ballots that are incorrectly marked and decide voter intent," Kando said. "(The Board of Elections) strives to be impartial," he added, "If we have to decide voter intent, it invites criticism."
Currently, voters who fail to verify their identification on the mail-in registration are notified in March or early April that they must bring identification to vote, which Kando said is appropriate.
"When someone gives you notice that you need to show ID when you next vote, is that not timely?" Kando said.
