This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming House of Representatives passed a bill on third reading during their Thursday, Feb. 13 floor session which would secure the status of tribal identification cards as valid forms of ID for voting in Wyoming.
The House passed the bill 58-2. It will move to the Senate for consideration.
House District 33 Representative Andi Clifford explained the bill to her fellow legislators during the first reading on Wednesday. She said that tribal ID can already be used for voter registration, but that the bill would make this clear.
According to the proposed legislation, “a tribal identification card issued by the governing body of the Eastern Shoshone tribe of Wyoming, the Northern Arapaho tribe of Wyoming or other federally recognized Indian tribe that contains the applicant’s driver’s license number, if the applicant has a driver’s license, and the last four (4) digits of the applicant’s social security number” would be considered valid forms of ID for voting registration.
Under current Wyoming law, a valid Wyoming driver’s license is needed to register to vote in elections. If people don’t have such an ID, they can still register to vote if they provide a statement on voter registration oath forms obtained from their county clerk that they don’t have such an ID and provide the last four digits of their social security number.
If people have neither a driver’s license or a social security number, a statement indicating this on the voter registration oath forms can also allow them to register to vote.
The county clerk determines whether a person is qualified to vote.
The bill is sponsored by the Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Interim Committee.
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