This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A bill that would require people to show identification to register to vote has strong opposition from two voter rights groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the League of Women Voters are urging the state Senate to defeat the bill, calling it unnecessary and warning that it will make registration more difficult for many potential voters.
"As even the sponsor of this bill has indicated, SB210 is merely 'precautionary,' as there is no evidence to support the practice of voting by undocumented immigrants in Utah," said Marina Lowe, staff attorney for the ACLU of Utah. "Unfortunately, the lesson learned by Arizona after enacting similar legislation is that large numbers of voter registration forms from U.S. citizens were rejected because they lacked the documents needed to prove their citizenship. The right to vote of Utahns is too fundamental to be sacrificed in the name of a hypothetical harm."
Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, sponsored the bill to keep undocumented immigrants from voting illegally. A potential voter would have to show a driver license, birth certificate or passport to prove identity. However, the county clerks would not be asked to verify the validity of the documents, Madsen said.
"Every person who is not legal steals a vote from someone who was supposed to vote," Madsen said. "I don't think the numbers rose to the level where they affected an election, but it was happening. We are fortunate in the state that there was nothing to suggest it was a concerted, organized effort as other states have experienced."
However, the League of Women Voters opposed the bill because "there is no proof of noncitizens voting in Utah."
The league also worries about the time and money needed to get identification and the obstacles it erects for door-to-door registration drives.
Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, has the same concerns about undermining efforts to register voters at community events, such as street fairs.
"Never have we had to have a photocopy machine with us at the fair or on our hip," he said. The bill passed its initial vote in the Senate, but needs one more vote before moving to the House for consideration.