Mike Beebe Vetoes Voter Photo ID Bill

Source: Arkansas Business

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe vetoed legislation Monday that would have required voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot, saying the measure was "an expensive solution in search of a problem" and would establish a requirement impairing the right to vote.

State law currently requires poll workers to ask for identification, but voters can still cast a ballot if they don't have one. A new Republican majority at the Legislature said that restricting access to the polls would reduce voter fraud. The bill's opponents said the measure would unfairly disenfranchise poor, elderly and minority voters. It would have exempted voters who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Legislators can override Beebe's veto with a simple majority vote.

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Beebe, a Democrat who formerly served as attorney general, issued the opinion shortly after Attorney General Dustin McDaniel released an advisory opinion saying he couldn't predict whether a court would find the restriction unconstitutional. But Beebe said any new voting restrictions should be justified "by the most compelling of reasons."

Read more: http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/91608/mike-beebe-vetoes-voter-photo-id-bill