Noting that the new voter ID law could cause some headaches, election administrator Donna Yates said she hopes voter education will curb hot tempers come election time next year.
“People will be complaining I have no doubt,” Yates said of the new state law that requires all voters to present a photo ID when they arrive at the polls.
The voter ID law was passed recently because of fears unqualified people were casting votes, either those who were voting under false names or felons who were voting despite having no right to vote. Lawmakers felt a photo ID presented at the polls would do away with such problems.
However, Yates said the law could cause problems on the other end if voters are not prepared when they vote. The next major election, Yates noted, will be the presidential primaries March 6. For those who do not have a driver license, there is another way.
“The driver’s license testing stations will be giving out government-issued, ID-only cards for free,” Yates said, pointing out it would be best for people who need a photo ID to get it now and not wait until just before election day.
The driver testing station for Warren County is located next to Warren County High School.
As for those who show up to vote without photo ID, they can still vote but it will make things more complicated for both them and election officials.
“If they have no photo identification they can go ahead and vote provisionally and they will then have two days to come back and show us a photo ID,” said Yates, noting that in itself could be a big issue if there are lots of people who show up without photo IDs. “What happens if there’s a few hundred? That could put everything on hold for at least two days.”
There have been past elections where the official outcome remained in doubt while a handful of provisional ballots were confirmed and counted, most notably an aldermanic election less than five years ago where 10 provisional ballots held up a final declaration of the winner.
The only exception to the photo ID will be those who vote by mail or those voting in hospitals or nursing homes.