Indiana Legislature approves bill adding additional verification steps to voter registration
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers passed legislation Thursday that expands the state’s power to verify voters’ addresses and adds an additional residency requirement for new voters.
The bill’s Republican secretary of state, Sen. Mike Gaskill, called it a “common sense bill” that provides protections against fraud, but voting advocates have blasted the changes as new hurdles for people seeking to vote legally.
The bill passed the Senate on a 34-13 vote, largely along party lines, sending it to Governor Eric Holcomb for review.
Voters in Indiana are already required to show photo identification when casting a ballot, and last year a law was passed that tightened mail-in voting requirements in the state.
Under the bill, residents who are new voters in Indiana would be required to provide proof of residency when registering in person, unless they present an Indiana driver’s license or Social Security number that matches an Indiana record.
Voting rights advocates have said the provision adds hurdles to the process for students, the homeless and the elderly who may not have traditional utility bills, as well as people who have just moved to the state.
Additionally, the new bill would allow the state to contract with third-party vendors that provide credit information. The data would be cross-referenced with voter registration data to identify possible changes of residence and any voters registered at non-residential addresses.
If the state determines a voter registration at a non-residential address, the bill outlines a process to investigate the discrepancy. If this is not resolved, the voter may ultimately be removed from registration.
Opponents say outdated or inaccurate credit data could cause some voters to ultimately lose their registration status.
The bill also requires officials to compare the state’s voter registration system with data from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The intent is to identify all noncitizens enrolled in the voter registration system, something voters in Indiana say doesn’t exist.
National investigators have also found few examples, but former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have continued to make this unsupported claim.
Indiana law already prohibits noncitizens from registering to vote.
The bill says a person found unlawfully in the voter registration system has 30 days to prove their citizenship to the provincial voter registration office or their registration will be canceled. It does not specify how often the state will check agency information or how often agency information on temporary identification cards will be updated.
Democratic Sen. JD Ford said lawmakers called the timeline for proving citizenship too tight.
If the bill is signed by the governor, it will go into effect on July 1.