Indiana House Republicans OK strict voter ID bill

• Blacks are wary of effect of Indiana voter ID bill [more]

Indiana would have the strictest voter identification laws in the nation under a bill approved Monday by the House after three hours of bitter partisan debate. "This is definitely bloody Monday," said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. Senate Bill 483 would require voters to show a photo ID issued by either Indiana state government or the federal government before they can cast their ballots. Expired IDs would be accepted if they had expired after the most recent general election. Rep. Tim Brown, the Crawfordsville Republican who sponsored the measure, said it is needed to instill voter confidence. But 18 House Democrats went to the microphone to charge that the bill will take away the right of some people to vote at all. Several accused Republicans of taking part in a nationwide GOP effort to suppress the votes of minorities.  In the end, the bill passed 52-45, with every Republican voting for it and every Democrat present voting against it. The measure previously passed the Senate. If the Senate goes along with changes made by the House, it will go to Gov. Mitch Daniels. While a handful of other states have or are implementing laws to require photo IDs, only Indiana does not allow voters to sign affidavits attesting to their identities if they do not have the required ID. Under the bill, a voter without the ID would be able to cast a provisional ballot, but it would not be counted unless the voter showed the ID at the county clerk's office within six days or signed a statement expressing religious objections to a photograph.  "I wonder if D.C. Stephenson's ghost is lurking around here somewhere," Rep. Mae Dickinson, D-Indianapolis, said, referring to the KKK Grand Dragon who was powerful in Indiana in the 1920s. [more]