New Louisiana laws will establish stricter voter identification protocols and require election officials send every voter’s personal information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Act 5 by Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, removes provisional ballots from voting locations, forcing anyone without a photo ID to go to their parish registrar of voters and provide additional identifying documents in order to cast a ballot.
Previously, voters who didn’t have or forgot to bring a photo ID could still show up to polls and cast a provisional ballot by signing an affidavit attesting to their identity. Election commissioners would forward the affidavits to the parish registrar who verified the affidavits by checking the voter’s signature and registration information.
Under the new law, voters will need to go to their parish registrar to vote on Election Day and must return within two days to verify their identity. This will require providing a Louisiana or U.S. military photo ID or some combination of official identifying documents such as a birth certificate and a bank statement.
The second new measure, Act 6 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, requires the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office to submit personal identifying information for all registered voters in the state to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This includes addresses, birthdates and Social Security numbers.
The federal agency will check the information against a database typically used to check the status of noncitizens and naturalized citizens applying for government benefits. The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database was offered to state and local election officials last year.
Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry, a Republican, voluntarily submitted voters’ names to the Department of Homeland Security last year and found nearly 400 non-citizen registered voters, with 79 voting in at least one election since 1980. The alleged illegal voters represent approximately 0.002% of Louisiana’s roughly 2.9 million registered voters.
The law takes effect Aug. 1.
In a news release Monday, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, no relation to the secretary of state, applauded both laws as measures designed to secure Louisiana’s elections and “strengthen voter confidence.”
“Louisiana has become a national leader in election integrity because we are committed to continuously improving our election system,” Nancy Landry said in the governor’s news release. “These reforms reflect a commonsense approach to election administration. They help ensure that voter identities are verified, voter registration rolls remain accurate, and personal voter information is protected.”
Voting rights advocates worry the changes will impact residents who are less likely to carry a photo ID or driver’s license.
Jared Evans, a voting rights attorney with the Louisiana Power Coalition, said the populations of particular concern include senior citizens, disabled people and low-income residents — all groups who are generally less likely to drive or own a vehicle.
“It’s just so unnecessary,” Evans said. “This secretary of state continues to talk about how safe our elections are. So if that is the case, then why do we need all these additional measures? Either our elections are safe and secure and we don’t need these arbitrary measures, or they’re not telling us the truth about our election security.”