Due to a new law in Tennessee, beginning on January 1, 2012, all voters must present a photo ID when voting at the polls.
Earlier this year, Senator Bill Ketron, Senate Republican Caucus Chair, and Representative Debra Maggart, House Republican Caucus Chair, proposed the bill.
Simply put, this law requires a form of photo identification to vote at the polls. However, according to the TN Secretary of State website, the types of photo identification are limited to government-issued IDs.
The acceptable forms of photo ID are:
•Tennessee driver’s license with your photo,
•United States Passport,
•Department of Safety photo ID,
•Photo ID issued by the federal or state government,
•United States Military photo ID, or
•Gun permit card with your photo
A college student photo ID is NOT an acceptable photo ID. Any photo ID not issued by the federal or state government is also not acceptable.
There are several exemptions from this law. Those exempt are:
•Voters who vote absentee by mail
•Voters who are residents in a licensed nursing home or assisted living center and who vote at the facility
•Voters who are hospitalized
•Voters with a religious objection to being photographed
•Voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee
If you don’t bring a photo ID and you are not exempt, then you must vote with a provisional ballot. A voter then has two business days after the election to return to the county election commission office to show a valid photo ID.
The Tennessee Division of Elections created a Town Hall Video to help bring awareness to the new voter ID law. This helpful video can be found at www.GoVoteTn.com.
If you are a registered voter and don’t have a photo ID, you can obtain a free photo ID from the Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS).
According to the TDOS, under the new voter ID law, in order to get a photo ID for voting purposes, voters must show the following documentation to a Driver Service Center examiner:
•A voter registration card
•Proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate), and
•Two proofs of Tennessee residency (such as a copy of a utility bill, vehicle registration/title, or an active bank statement).
Under the law, the TDOS can’t issue a photo ID for voting purposes without each of these required items. If you do not have a birth certificate, ask to speak to a Driver Service Center manager who will work with you to identify possible other documentation to prove citizenship.
For a photo ID, each applicant must also sign an affidavit stating that he or she does not have a valid government-issued photo ID.
For the complete list of Tennessee Residency Documents, go to www.tn.gov/safety/driverlicense/dlproof.shtml. All items are required to be current documents from within the past four months.
This Republican-backed voter ID law has already met some opposition. Senate Democratic Chairman Lowe Finney of Jackson and House Democratic Chairman Mike Turner of Old Hickory said in October that they are sponsoring legislation to turn back the photo ID law.
Many Democrats agree with Senator Finney and Representative Turner’s actions. When asked about the new voter ID law, UTM College Democrats President Heather Mummert said, “The new voter ID law that was passed in Tennessee this year is a clear attempt to prevent college students, seniors, and minorities from being able to vote.”
“The state of Tennessee requires that in order to acquire a government issued photo ID, one must present, at a minimum, six documents or more if there are name changes or adoptive situations. This is a clear attack on college students across the state in that a state school ID is no longer an acceptable form of identification at the polls,” continued Mummert.
The Republican argument is that this law will help prevent voter fraud. UTM College Republicans President Grant Monroe responded to the opposition by stating, “The new law that requires photo ID in order to vote is a necessary measure to ensure that the integrity of the ballot box is upheld, and that all elections in Tennessee never have to be questioned for voter fraud.”
Monroe continued,
“Voter disenfranchisement is a laughable claim by this law’s critics, since there are various exceptions to the law that protect seniors and those with low incomes, especially since the photo ID can be obtained free of charge. One lawmaker, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner, went as far as stating in committee that maybe voters should not even be able to vote if they are unwilling to obtain a free photo ID. Where were the critics then?”
If you would like more information on the new voter ID law, or if you would even like to register to vote, call or visit your county election commission. You can also visit the Tennessee Secretary of State Website at www.tn.gov/sos/election/index.htm.
