House approves constitutional amendment to enshrine proof-of-identity for voting; referral to voters cleared
Loading...
Summary
SJR 47, which would place statutory proof-of-identity voting requirements into the Oklahoma Constitution while preserving provisional-ballot options, passed the House and was referred to a special election (final recorded result 78–15).
The Oklahoma House approved Senate Joint Resolution 47 on Wednesday, a proposal to amend the state constitution to require "proof of identity" for voting. Representative Roberts, who presented the measure, said the amendment codifies existing statutory proof-of-identity requirements and would not eliminate provisional ballots.
Representative Roberts answered members’ questions on the floor, telling the chamber that "No, you will still be able to to vote with a provisional ballot" if you lack identification at the polling place. He said the purpose of the constitutional change is to make the requirement less vulnerable to future statutory change.
Members probed whether the amendment would effectively require photo identification and whether the text differs from current statute. Roberts said the measure preserves current practice and tasks the legislature with enacting laws that specify what proof of identity requires. A question about the administrative cost of placing a state question on the ballot drew an estimate from the presenter of roughly $100,000 if a new ballot page must be printed.
The House approved SJR 47 and the subsequent vote to refer the amendment to the people met the two-thirds threshold required for a special-election referral; the clerk recorded a final result of 78–15.
Because the resolution would change the constitution, it must now be placed on the ballot at the special election specified in the resolution.