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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Morales
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/19/08
HB
SHORT TITLE Eliminate Election Use of SS Numbers
SB 81
ANALYST Ortiz
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
NFI
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Attorney General’s Office (AGO)
Association of County Clerks (ACC)
Secretary of State (SOS)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 81 eliminates the use of voters’ social security numbers on certain election-related
documents; changes certain election code terminology, the definition of “required voter identifi-
cation", and requirements for certain absentee ballot materials.
The specifics of the bill are listed below.
Section 1:
amends Section 1-1-24 so that a voter identification card is no longer a permissible
form of Voter ID. The bill would now allow an in-person voter to satisfy the Voter ID require-
ment by stating his name, address as registered, and year of birth. S/he no longer has to state
her/his unique identifier number.
Section 2:
amends Section 1-4-5 to make clear that election officials, in their official capacity,
may copy or use a voter’s social security number.
Sections 3, 4 and 8:
amends Section 1-5-7, -8, 1-12-7.1 to delete the use of “precinct voter lists",
provide for the use of “checklist of voters" and prohibit “signature rosters" from having the
voter’s social security number. Amends Section 1-5-8 and 1-12-7.1 to require the county clerk
to place an alphabetical listing of voters in each precinct and have posted inside the polling place
for public use. The list shall not contain voter addresses, years of birth, unique identifiers or so-
pg_0002
Senate Bill 81 – Page
2
cial security numbers.
Sections 5, 6 and 7:
amends Sections 1-6-4, -8, -9 so an absentee voter can satisfy the Voter ID
requirement by writing her/his name, address as registered, and year of birth on the absentee bal-
lot envelope flap. S/he no longer has to write her/his unique identifier number.
Section 9:
amends Section 1-12-25.3 so a provisional voter does not have to list his social secu-
rity number on the outer envelope of a provisional ballot.
Finally, this bill does not prohibit the use of a social security numbers for voter registration pur-
poses.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Association of County Clerks explains that this bill fixes a problem that was created last
year when the legislature banned the use of the last four digits of the SSN for the voter to iden-
tify themselves at the polls. The existing law permits a voter to provide physical ID or state his
name, year of birth and unique identifier. In 2007, the legislature changed the definition of
“unique identifier" from the voter’s last four social security numbers to a randomly generated
series of numbers and letters, issued to the voter by the Secretary of State’s office. This means
an in-person voter must satisfy voter ID requirements by either showing physical ID or stating
his name, year of birth, and assigned number/symbol. It is unlikely a voter will remember his
unique identifier (i.e. 8&45TRGHI*5) and therefore it is likely that many voters will have to
show physical Voter ID in order to be eligible to cast a valid ballot. There will be a terrible ef-
fect on absentee voting if this is not corrected, because county clerks can’t just give out this in-
formation over the phone, so people won’t know what this 6 or 7 digit number is unless they
have their voter card in a handy place. ACC encourages passage of this bill and it made effective
before the election. This bill will now allow an in-person voter to state his name, year of birth,
and address as registered to satisfy the Voter ID requirement and an absentee voter to write his
name, year of birth, and address as registered on the absentee ballot envelope flap to satisfy the
Voter ID requirement.
The AGO adds that the propriety of requiring physical Voter ID to vote is subject to pending liti-
gation in the United States Supreme Court. See Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and
Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
There is still a reference to a voter using a social security number as part of casting ballots in the
Municipal Election Code in Section 3-9-4(F).
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Possible problems in confirming voter identification, which could delay or disenfranchise voters.
EO/nt