Senator McConnell Urges Colleagues To Support His Amendment To Require A Photo ID To Vote

Senator McConnell Urges Colleagues To Support His Amendment To Require A Photo ID To Vote

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, which would require Americans to show photo IDs before voting at the polls.

The McConnell amendment would implement the recommendation of the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform to protect and secure the franchise of all United States citizens from ballots being cast illegally by non-United States citizens. It does so by amending the REAL ID Act to include citizenship status on the ID card, requiring photo ID at the polls, and creating a grant program to states to pay for ID cards for those who cannot afford one.

"Photo IDs are needed to board a plane, open a bank account, and even to get a library card but not to vote," said McConnell. "This amendment helps ensure that those who vote do so legally."

According to an April 2006 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 81 percent of Americans support requiring photo identification at voting sites.

In September 2005, the Carter-Baker Commission, which is named after the two leaders of the bi-partisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, Jimmy Carter and James Baker, recommends that states require voters to use the REAL ID card to prove they are the ones on the registration list.

http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=256013&start=1