House rejects voter ID proposal
Posted at: 02/25/2013 9:48 PM
| Updated at: 02/25/2013 9:56 PM
By: The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The House has rejected a Republican-backed proposal to require voters to show identification at the polls in New Mexico.
The proposal failed on a party-line 38-31 vote Monday. A GOP lawmaker offered the proposal as the House debated legislation expanding access to early voting sites in rural areas.
Democrats opposed the voter ID requirement, saying it could prevent the elderly and minorities from voting because they might not have needed forms of identification.
Proponents said an ID requirement would provide more integrity in state elections.
The early voting legislation passed the House vote and heads to the Senate. The measure was prompted by long lines of voters on election night in the southern New Mexico community of Chaparral.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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