House panel advances plan to reinstate Arkansas voter ID law

LITTLE ROCK—A House panel sought Wednesday to reinstate Arkansas' voter ID law, and expanded Republican majorities in the Legislature could help it survive yet another court challenge like the one that struck down a nearly identical plan more than two years ago.

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee endorsed the proposal requiring most voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. The measure is expected to go before the full House next week

The panel endorsed the measure hours after President Donald Trump, who has made unsubstantiated claims that millions of ballots were cast illegally in last year's election, said he would order an investigation into voter fraud. Election officials across the country have dismissed Trump's voter fraud claims as baseless.

The Arkansas Supreme Court in 2014 unanimously struck down the state's voter ID law, ruling it amounted to a new requirement for voters in violation of the state's constitution. The latest proposal is aimed at addressing a concern three of the court's seven justices raised that the prohibition didn't pass with enough votes in the Legislature when it was enacted in 2013. The voter ID measure will require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/jan/26/house-panel-advances-plan-reinstate-arkansas-voter-id-law/658786/