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    Voter ID Legislation in the 109th Congress

    Published: January 26, 2009
    Bill No. Short Title Sponsors Date Introduced Related Bills Description
    S. 17 Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2005 Dodd January 24, 2005   Among other things, this bill would add as acceptable proof of identify for in-person voting and voting by mail an executed, written affidavit attesting to one’s identity.
    S. 414 Voter Protection Act of 2005 McConnell February 17, 2005   Among other things, this bill would require all voters to provide government-issued photo ID when registering to vote by mail and for voting. The EAC is authorized to make grants to state to promote the issuance of free photo IDs to voters, but it does not make the free issuance of IDs mandatory. Additionally, this bill would amend the Social Security Act to require states to use individuals’ social security numbers to establish their identities for voter registration and other election administration activities.
    S. 450 Count Every Vote Act of 2005 Clinton February 17, 2005 H.R. 939 This is an omnibus election reform bill that seeks to address a number of election administration problems that arose in the 2004 federal elections.  Among other things, this bill would allow first-time voters who registered by mail to vote regardless of whether they show ID so long as they execute an affidavit of eligibility.  It also would provide funds for states to distribute free photo IDs to those who do not have them.
    S. Con. Res. 53   Obama September 20, 2005 H. Con. Res. 247 This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that any effort to impose national photo ID requirements for voting should be rejected.
    H.R. 533 Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2005 Conyers February 2, 2005   The provisions of this election reform bill are very similar to those in S. 17 and would address many election administration problems in the same way.
    H.R. 939 Count Every Vote Act of 2005 Jones February 17, 2005 S. 450 This omnibus election reform bill seeks to address a number of election administration problems that arose in the 2004 federal elections.  The provisions of this bill are similar to those in S. 450.
    H.R. 2250 Valuing Our Trust in Elections Act Green May 11, 2005 H.R. 5776 Among other things, this bill would require the presentation of current, valid, government-issued photo ID in order to register to vote or to vote. The EAC can provide states with grants to subsidize the cost of issuing photo ID, with limitations.
    H. Con. Res. 247   Lewis September 20, 2005 S. Con. Res. 53 This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that any effort to impose national photo ID requirements for voting should be rejected.
    H.R. 3910 Verifying the Outcome of Tomorrow’s Elections Act of 2005 Feeney September 27, 2005   Among other things, this bill would require voters to present current, valid, state-issued photo ID for voting. Acceptable ID must have: (1) the person’s full legal name; (2) the person’s date of birth; (3) the person’s gender; (4) the person’s number for the form of ID; (5) digital photograph of the person; (6) the person’s address of principle residence; and (7) the person’s signature.

    In order to obtain the photo ID described above, a person must present: (1) a photo ID or non-photo ID that shows the person’s full legal name and date of birth; (2) documentation showing the person’s date of birth; (3) a Social Security number or verification that the person is not eligible for an SSN; and (4) documentation of name and principal residential address. No foreign documents other than an official passport can satisfy these requirements.
    H.R. 4462 Voter Verification Act Gingrey December 7, 2005   This bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act to require individuals to provide photographic proof of citizenship to register to vote and to vote.  Driver’s licenses do not satisfy this requirement unless proof of citizenship was required to obtain the driver’s license.
    H.R. 4844 Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006 Hyde March 2, 2006, passed on September 20, 2006 and received in Senate   Among other things, in order to obtain a ballot, this bill would require all voters to show a valid, current, government-issued photo ID for which the individual was required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to obtain the ID. This bill also requires states to make such photo IDs available to people who do not possess them at a reasonable cost, or in the case of indigent individuals, free of charge.
    H.R. 4989 Electoral Fairness Act of 2006 Holt March 16, 2006   Among other things, this bill would  require states to issue durable voter registration cards that include the voter’s name and address at no charge to voters that will serve as proof of registration at poll sites even if the individual’s name does not appear in the poll books. The EAC may provide grants to eligible states to cover the costs of providing the voter IDs.
    H.R. 5913 Voter Integrity Protection Act of 2006 Tancredo July 26, 2006   This bill would require all voters to provide government-issued photo ID that also serves as proof of citizenship in order to vote.  A state-issued driver’s license is not sufficient identification unless the state requires proof of citizenship to obtain a driver’s license.  States must provide photo ID free of charge to people who do not possess it.  The EAC is required to provide states grants to cover the cost of providing such photo IDs to people.