Saturday, November 26, 2005

Older drivers licenses as ID may hinder voting

Proposition 200 could create voting problems for those with old addresses on their licenses.

The Associated Press

PHOENIX - A voter-approved proposition passed last year to prevent noncitizens from voting may also prevent Arizonans with older drivers licenses from voting as well.

Under Proposition 200, anyone registering to vote must provide proof of citizenship. The most popular form is usually an Arizona drivers license issued after Oct. 1, 1996, when the state began demanding evidence of legal U.S. residency to get a license.

But according to a report in The Arizona Republic, one in 10 Arizona motorists - more than 400,000 - currently hold licenses issued before that date which are not an acceptable form of voter registration identification.

The new rules allow a valid Arizona license, regardless of date of issuance, to be used as voter identification at polling precincts if the home address on the license matches the voter's current address.

But more than 100,000 Arizonans carry licenses with old addresses.

"I'm glad to see a little more security in the voting process, but I hope they'll take the time to educate people ... to make sure people can get through this," said Mesa businesswoman Charlie Hendrix, who had used a post office box as her ID address for years.

So far, improper documents have already resulted in more than 12,000 people being turned away from registering in the state's most populous counties - Maricopa and Pima - since January. Though some of those would-be voters were able to return later with proper documentation, county elections officials say it is a sign that Arizonans do not understand the ID requirements.

"If they (elderly) come to the polling place, that's a toughie ... because I don't know how they would prove who they are," said Karen Osborne, Maricopa County's elections director.

Alternative forms of identification acceptable for registration or voting range from U.S. passports and birth certificates to utility bills and property tax statements.

People who show up at the polls to vote with an outdated address on their license will be offered a provisional ballot that will have to be verified within three to five days by county elections officials.

In the end, early voting could be the saving grace. It only requires a signature with no other form of identification. Voters may have a ballot sent to them, vote, then sign the envelope and send it in. If they wait too long to mail it, they may deliver it by hand to their regular polling place on Election Day.

No ID is needed because their signature on the envelope is compared with a registration signature in county computers. Signature verification by trained county staff is considered a form of positive identification.