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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Thompson		DATE TYPED:	03/08/01		HB	14/aHVEC
SHORT TITLE:		Require Voter Identification				SB
					ANALYST:		Woodlee

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY01

FY02

FY01

FY02

$ 0.0

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Secretary of State

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HVEC Amendment

The House Voters and Elections Committee amendment to House Bill 14 deletes the proposed requirement of presenting identification or executing a sworn statement. The proposal would then be requiring the existing practice of signatures and would add the penalties provided in the original bill.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 14 proposes to amend Section 1-12-10 NMSA 1978 to require voters to present one of the following forms of identification:

•New Mexico voter registration card;
•Social Security card;
•valid New Mexico driver's license;
•any other identification card issued by an agency of the state, its subdivision, or the United States; or
•any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the employee, issued by an employer for ordinary course of the employer's business.

In addition, the bill provides that if the voter is unable to present such identification, then he/she shall be allowed to vote after executing a statement swearing or affirming the a he or she is the named registered voter. Knowingly providing a false statement in such a case constitutes perjury as provided in Section 30-25-1 NMSA 1978 and voting on the basis of this statements constitutes false voting as provided in Section 1-20-8 NMSA 1978.

Significant Issues

According to the Secretary of State, digital signature technology could resolve the identification issue without requiring certified identification. This is able to be implemented in eight New Mexico counties implementing the Voter Registration and Election Management System (VREMS) for $10.0. However, this would not address the remaining counties yet to implement the VREMS.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No appropriation or significant fiscal implications contained in the bill.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

It is possible the voting process could be slightly delayed because of the added task of checking identification cards.

MW/njw