Equality State News

The Wyoming House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring voters to present a photo ID when they are going to cast a ballot.

The House  passed the bill on March 1 and if it becomes law, individuals who want to cast a ballot would have to present any of the following photo identifications:

·         Wyoming driver’s license

·         Tribal identification card

·         U.S. passport (must be valid/updated)

·         U.S. military card

·         Medicare insurance card

·         Government-provided identification card

The bill excludes individuals who will vote by absentee ballot.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Despite the stricter measures, Wyoming lawmakers say that voter fraud is not prevalent in their state. In fact, it’s not even a problem, but state officials are trying to be proactive in safeguarding the election process.

Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, who supports the legislation, reassured the public that this bill is not a response to election fraud in the state. He said that they haven’t witnessed any tampering of election results in their state but they do want to add another layer of security onto the polls.

Some individuals are skeptical about the strict measure. Marguerite Herman, a member of the League of Women Voters, said that implementing a regulation such as this would only mislead people into thinking that the election process is not tamper-proof. She said that so far there has been no proof that voter impersonation would easily be curbed by presenting a photo ID at the polls.