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Oklahoma
State Senate
For Immediate Release: March 10, 2009 The State Senate approved Voter ID legislation on Tuesday that will ensure clean and fair elections for generations to come. Senate Bill 4 requires any individual that votes in person to show “proof of identity,” which can be a document that includes the voter’s name, a picture of the voter, and is issued by the United States, the State of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized Indian Tribe or Nation. In instances where an individual does not have any of these methods of identification, the voter may show their county issued Voter ID card. “Many daily activities require valid identification, such as writing a check, boarding a plane or even getting a library card in some states,” said John Ford, R-Bartlesville. “When voters get the opportunity to decide who will run our state and our nation and what laws will govern our citizens, it is prudent to verify their identification at the polls.” Ford stressed how critical it is to be pro-active in keeping elections clean and fair. “Opponents of this responsible and reasonable reform offer unsubstantiated claims of voter disenfranchisement to bolster their case,” said Ford. “Contrary to what they would have you believe, the states with the most stringent voter identification requirements saw greater turnout compared to their neighboring states with similar demographics in 2008,” he continued. “The time for this election reform has come,
and I’m pleased to send it to the House for their approval,
and on to the governor,” Ford concluded.
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