OKLAHOMA CITY — Senate Bill 1150 would require Oklahoma voters to provide identification at the polls was approved Monday by the Oklahoma House despite claims that it would deprive some elderly and poor Oklahomans of their right to vote.
“This is another thing that keeps people from being part of government,” said Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner. “I think it’s very arrogant, very thoughtless.”
House members voted 56-42 to send the measure to the Senate for a vote after its author, Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, said it will help stop voting irregularities and restore the public’s faith in the state’s voting process.
The measure would require voters to provide a photo ID or some other form of current identification at Oklahoma polling places before they are allowed to vote.
An identification card, driver’s license, passport or photocopy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government or tribal document that shows the voter’s name and address would all qualify under the measure.
State election officials have warned that the ID requirement could slow the voting process and require additional precinct workers to keep the lines moving. A fiscal impact statement attached to the bill says it will cost $90,000 to implement in a statewide election.
Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Porum, said the measure “is a smoke-screen bill” that diverts attention away from pressing needs that lawmakers are not addressing, such as improving state health care programs, roads and bridges, public schools and prisons.
“We’re not even addressing these. Let’s deal with something substantive here,” Cannaday said.
Other opponents said the requirement will make it harder for some poor and elderly Oklahomans who are less likely to have current identification to participate in elections.
Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, said voter fraud is already illegal and that prosecutors will file cases against violators if the facts warrant.
“We’re trying to create a solution where there’s really not a problem,” Kiesel said.
House members defeated two amendments to the bill before approving it, including one by Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, that would have allowed only photo IDs for personal identification.
A second by Kiesel would have authorized same-day voter registration in the state.
“This is an effort for us to bring more people to the polls,” Kiesel said.
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