Subcommittee rejects bill to add birth year and last-four SSN to same-day affirmation statement
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Summary
House Bill 1213, which would have required in-person voters without ID to provide birth year and the last four digits of their Social Security number on an affirmation statement, failed in the Elections Administration Subcommittee after public testimony split between election officers citing fraud risks and the League of Women Voters warning the change could deter legitimate voters.
Delegate Oates presented House Bill 12 13 as an alignment measure: it would make the affirmation statement used by in-person voters who lack ID require full name, birth year and the last four digits of Social Security number, matching the information required of provisional and absentee voters.
Proponents, including multiple election officers, said the current optional status of birth year and SSN on the affirmation leaves an identification gap at the polling place because ballots cast after an affirmation go directly into the voting machine rather than being treated as provisional. Martha Cohen, an election officer, and others said making those fields mandatory would provide election officials additional means to detect and follow up on potential impersonation.
Opponents included Joan Porte of the League of Women Voters, who said the affirmation already carries a legal penalty and that requiring extra personal data could needlessly deter voters and turn away legitimate ballots. After testimony and questioning about poll-worker burden and enforcement, the committee attempted to report the bill but the report motion failed and the bill did not advance out of subcommittee.
