Statement on House Passage of SB2, Mandatory Voter ID Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-KY legal director Corey Shapiro regarding House passage of SB2:

“Legislators have passed SB2, the Mandatory Photo Voter ID Bill, despite acknowledging that the Commonwealth has no recorded instances of in-person voter impersonation, the only type of fraud photo ID can prevent. There is no need for this law. Make no mistake: This will create new barriers that make it harder to vote. It will disproportionately impact people of color, senior citizens, the poor, people with disabilities, and people who live in rural areas.

During floor debate, legislators rejected two important changes that would have softened the blow to voters. One was even supported by Secretary of State Adams, and would have accepted voters’ personal reasons for not having a valid photo ID. The second change would have delayed implementation until after the November 2020 election. We remain deeply concerned about the rushed timeline and lack of resources to implement the bill just months ahead of a highly anticipated election.

We will monitor SB2 through the concurrence process and look forward to seeing what, if any, action Governor Beshear may take on the bill if it is delivered to his desk. We continue to consider legal action to ensure the law and its implementation do not infringe on Kentuckians’ constitutional right to vote. We will make our decision based on the provisions upon final passage.”

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