Voter ID Bill Gets Watered Down

A bill to require proof of citizenship in order to vote was softened in the state legislature Tuesday to become a stern warning on voter application cards.

State Representative Eric Watson, a Cleveland Republican, says now his measure only adds another check-off box on a standard voter application. The box will warn potential fraudulent voters that the offense is a Class D felony, and that the minimum fine will be $1,000.

“It places a clarification on the registration card, that you’re lawfully in the United States.”

Fraudulently registering to vote was upgraded to a Class D felony two years ago. But Watson says the cards handed out by county election commissions still say it is only a Class E felony, with a lesser penalty.

Even with the change, the his proposed measure allows election commissions to use up the old, inaccurate forms before ordering new versions.

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Watson’s bill started out as a measure to require all voters to supply proof of citizenship when registering, such as a passport or a birth certificate. The amendment, considered by the House Elections Subcommittee on Tuesday, completely rewrites that measure to settle for a new printed warning.

Watson and Mark Goins, election coordinator for the state, say the application on the state elections office website is correct.

The warning about the Class D felony is in red letters near the bottom of the form.

Watson says another outcome of his bill will be that the fine for the offense will be a minimum of $1,000. Legal consultants to the legislature agree that nowhere in Tennessee law is a minimum fine currently set for the offense of fraudulently registering to vote.

The penalty will be two to twelve years in jail and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, according to drafters of the amendment.

Watson says local election commissions are using the old, lesser penalty information. Goins refused to guess at what local commissions are printing on their cards.

The bill is HB-270 Watson/SB-194 Bunch.

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