ACLU of WV Reacts To Passage of Voter Identification Law

Today, the West Virginia Senate passed HB 4013, a voter ID law.  The bill will now return to the House for concurrence on amendments added in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The following statement can be attributed to Eli Baumwell, Policy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, a non-partisan statewide organization dedicated to assuring the Bill of Rights and rights guaranteed by the Constitution are preserved for each new generation:
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest.  Any hurdles erected to impede this right should be regarded as highly suspect.
HB 4013 purports to address in-person voter fraud, yet this type of fraud is extraordinarily rare.  Instead, HB 4013 creates problems by suppressing an individual’s right to vote.  Voters without photo IDs will be discouraged from going to the polls.  Those who do attempt to vote without proper identification will be forced to cast a provisional ballot, suggesting their votes aren’t as good.”