Brianne Pfannenstiel

bpfannenst@dmreg.com

Iowa would become one of 34 states that have enacted laws requesting or requiring some form of identification on Election Day under a bill approved by the Iowa House Thursday.

House File 516 was approved on a party-line vote after nearly 12 hours of debate that spanned two days. It now advances to the Senate where a Republican majority also is expected to advance the legislation.

Secretary of State Paul Pate, who submitted the bill, immediately praised its passage.

"This comprehensive and innovative approach will eliminate the potential for human error and fraud, and secure Iowa’s elections moving forward," he said in a statement. "It should be easy to vote, but hard to cheat. This bill accomplishes both of those goals."

Democrats took to the floor Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to convince Republicans the legislation is unnecessary, expensive and would have a disproportionate and negative effect on minorities, the elderly, the disabled and others.

"I am saying outright that this legislation is riddled with implicit bias. We’ve spent hours and hours trying to show you this," an exasperated Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty, told Republicans as debate neared its conclusion late Thursday morning. "To deny the bias in this bill is completely disingenuous. And after everything you’ve heard over the past 12 hours, it’s downright shameful."

If approved, the bill would make numerous changes to the state's election laws that Republicans say are needed to ensure the integrity of the process and prevent fraud. Among them is a provision that would require every voter to present government-issued identification at the poll on Election Day.

Statistics from the American Civil Liberties Union and others show that minorities are less likely to have government-issued ID cards. That has, in part, led some courts to decide strict photo ID laws are discriminatory, and those laws have been struck down in numerous states.

But. Rep. Ken Rizer, a Republican from Cedar Rapids who managed the bill in the House, said Iowa's legislation has been crafted with an eye to previous court decisions, including the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case which upheld a photo ID law in Indiana.

The bill outlines five forms of identification that would be valid at the polls, four of which include a photo. The fifth would be a new voter verification card the state and county would issue to every voter free of charge. Those who show up to the polls without valid ID could vote using a provisional ballot.

“This bill was crafted with the intent of passing every constitutional challenge," Rizer said. "This voter ID path has been well-paved in America. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and their supporters want to waste Iowa taxpayer money to defend a constitutional bill that 69 percent of Iowans support, then that’s on you.”

Rizer was referencing a recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll which found 69 percent of Iowans support requiring an ID to vote. And although the idea is most popular among Republicans, with 88 percent saying they support mandatory voter ID, 48 percent of Democrats also said they think voters should have identification.

But Democrats argued that the proposal is a solution in search of a problem.

According to a February Associated Press report, Pate's office was notified of 10 potentially improper votes cast out of 1.6 million counted statewide in the most recent elections.

"If you don’t check at the polls, well of course you’re not going to have any indications of fraud," Rizer said. "You have to check in order to find cases of fraud. And secondly, there’s no formal reporting process.”

Other provisions in the bill would eliminate the option for voters to check a single box for straight-party voting, put money toward helping precincts purchase digital poll books, and establish post-election audits.

American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis said in a statement the bill would suppress votes.

"This is a false and expensive bill of goods that will undermine elections in Iowa," she said. "But it is by no means over. The Iowa Senate is the place for thoughtful and careful deliberation. We call on the Senate to work with us to amend this bill to eliminate voter suppression."