The Independent View: Nevada Ready for Voter ID Law

Yet another Republican controlled state is looking to impose a voter ID law just in time for the 2016 elections. The GOP takeover has raised fears of a broader rightward shift for the state, on everything from immigration to Stand Your Ground laws.

GOP state lawmakers in Nevada are readying ID bills for early next year, Secretary of State-Elect Barbara Cegavske said she knew of two separate bills that might end up being merged together. “They’re writing them now,” said Cegavske, a Republican and a supporter of voter ID. “It just depends on how soon they get them in.”

Republicans took full control of state government for the first time since 1929, meaning a voter ID bill would likely have a strong chance of passing. Governor Brian Sandoval has said in the past he supports voter ID.

Although Nevada’s session doesn’t begin until February, Cegavske said the bills could appear on a “placeholder” list of upcoming measures as early as next month, indicating their high priority for Republican lawmakers.

A voter ID proposal from the outgoing secretary of state, Democrat Ross Miller, died in the legislature last year. It would have allowed voters to have their photos taken at the polls if they lacked ID. This year, Sharron Angle, the Republican tea party favorite who challenged Sen. Harry Reid for his Senate seat in 2010, led an effort to impose a voter ID requirement through a ballot initiative, but failed to gather enough signatures.

Over the last decade, Nevada has shifted from red to purple, driven by a massive influx of Hispanic voters, especially in the fast-growing Las Vegas region. President Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012, after it went twice for President George W. Bush.

Last week, Cegavske, a state senator, beat Democrat Kate Marshall in a tight race to become the Silver State’s next top elections official. iVote, a Democratic group focused on secretary of state races, had run ads backing Marshall.

Tod Story, the executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said his group had met with Cegavske during the campaign, in part to express its opposition to voter ID.

“Voter ID requirements significantly undermine the participation of lower-income, elderly, and minority voters,” said Story. “And we need to work to ensure that every individual who’s eligible to vote can exercise that right.”

Cegavske said she’d only support a bill if it didn’t restrict access to the polls, “we want to make sure nobody’s disenfranchised”, but added that she was confident Nevada could get IDs to those who need them.

“We do have a fund in our DMV that provides for the homeless, which is I think very helpful,” she said. “And there are organizations that help seniors out. So I don’t think we’d be a state that would struggle.”

Think about a underage kid getting a phony photo id to get into a club and a drink. So how is a photo id at the polling place going to protect voter fraud? Without a photo id database, if there is no ability to view a stored photo on a device or on the poll book, there is nothing to compare against.

And the signature match only works if the poll worker bothers to make the comparison.

The first case of voter fraud in New Mexico this election has been confirmed by the Rio Arriba County Clerk's Office. According to the Rio Arriba County Clerk's office, a voter trying to cast an early ballot in Espanola Saturday was told he had already voted three days prior. The man told poll workers he hadn't voted. He was then shown the signature of the voter, but he says it wasn't his signature. Officials say they were able to confirm that the signature on the original ballot did not match the legal voter's signature on file.