Proposal to Repeal Voter ID Law Discussed Today

A bill to repeal the controversial new voter id law passed last session will be heard today by the House Judiciary Committee, said sponsor Charlene Lima, D- Cranston.

Lima said the law, which requires people to show a valid state id card before voting, “is a solution to a non-existing problem.”

“There is no widespread voter fraud with people impersonating people in Rhode Island,” she added. And because the id requirement will disenfranchise some from voting, Lima said the ill-considered law should be rescinded.

“It’s going to hurt the elderly, the disabled and minorities,” she said. “Those people that don’t tend to have an id.”

Lima also said the law will prove expensive to execute. “We need every dime we can get and we’re spending money on a solution to something that is not a problem.”

Lima said 28 of her colleagues have signed onto the bill. But, she added, “It’s probably same group of people who were against it in the first place.”