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<P><STRONG>March 26, 2010<BR>Contact <A
href="mailto:Rdoug@roadrunner.com">Bonnie Douglas</A>, Vice
President</STRONG><STRONG><BR>208-664-5659<BR></STRONG></P>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=3><STRONG>League of Women Voters of Idaho Urges
Governor C.L. Otter to Veto Photo ID Bill H 496</STRONG><BR><STRONG>Says Law
Would Create Unreasonable Barriers to Voting</STRONG><BR></FONT></DIV>
<P>The following is a statement by Bonnie Douglas, Vice President of the League
of Women Voters of Idaho: <BR><BR>“The League of Women Voters of Idaho strongly
urges Governor Otter to veto House Bill 496 that was recently passed by the
legislature. This legislation would require voters to obtain and show a
government issued photo ID before exercising their constitutional right to
vote.<BR><BR>“Photo ID requirements are one of the most serious threats to our
efforts to ensure the right of every eligible American to vote. Research shows
that they encourage racial and ethnic discrimination at polling places, prevent
eligible voters from participating in our democracy, limit turnout, and do very
little to combat genuine instances of voters impersonating someone else at the
polls. <BR><BR>“The number of people who could be disenfranchised by the
proposed legislation is daunting. Many citizens do not have valid photo
identification. The burden will be greatest for those people – including the
elderly, low-income, minority, homeless, or handicapped – for whom it is most
cost prohibitive and inconvenient to take off work, get transportation, stand in
line, and apply for the documentation. In many cases, these individuals don’t
have the underlying documentation that is needed to get an Idaho ID. In
other words, this requirement would disenfranchise the very people who currently
must work the hardest to vote at all. <BR><BR>“The right to vote, and to have
that vote counted, is the most important civil right we have. Photo ID
requirements are one of the greatest threats to fair and equal voting rights
today. State governments should be in the business of encouraging full
participation of our citizenry, not developing ways to limit the right to
vote."<BR><BR>“Any proposal that raises barriers to voting is a fear-based
approach instead of a fact-based solution. For these reasons, the League
strongly urges Governor Otter to do the right thing by vetoing this legislation
that would require voter photo ID and instead focus on provisions that would
help improve polling place operations, foster effective training and recruitment
of poll workers, and make election administration more efficient, secure,
accurate and recountable.”<BR> </P>
<DIV align=center><A
href="http://lwvid.org/">http://lwvid.org/<BR></A></DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>