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Senate panel advances bill allowing no-photo state IDs for religious objectors
Summary
A Senate committee advanced a bill to let Arkansans with sincerely held religious objections obtain state IDs and driver’s licenses without photos, while carving out federal REAL ID and voter-ID uses and adding affidavit and verification steps to reduce misuse.
A Senate committee advanced legislation that would allow people with sincerely held religious objections to obtain state identification cards and driver’s licenses without a photograph, proponents said.
Representative Delia Hawk (District 91) told the TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY & LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS committee the bill responds to needs voiced by Amish and Mennonite constituents in her district and nearby communities. "This bill suggests that because of their religious objection to a photo or a graven image, This would allow them along with, communities in 13 other states that have issued, driver's licenses and photo IDs without a photograph," she said.
The bill explicitly exempts federal REAL ID uses and voting: people who want a…
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