House Disagrees with Senate on College IDs for Voting

The state senate allowed college IDs for voting purposes while the house rejected the idea. Image courtesy TTU

The Tennessee House and Senate have passed conflicting bills regarding what is a valid photo ID for voting. Monday night the House rejected the use of college IDs.

Democrats cried foul, saying Republicans – who passed the state’s voter ID law two years ago – are again limiting the rights of Tennesseans.

Debate ended with pushback from the GOP’s Majority Leader, Gerald McCormick.

“This idea of voter suppression is just not true. That’s not what anybody is trying to do here. I’m getting tired of hearing it.”

Members of the House say college IDs are too easy to forge, even though the senate OK’d them.

Differences between the two chambers will have to be worked out before heading to the governor’s desk.

The House bill also prevents the use of city library cards, which were temporarily allowed during last November’s election. By banning their use, House Republicans are basically reinforcing the two-year-old voter ID law.