Kentucky senators passed two voting rights bills Friday. One would allow more Kentuckians to vote while the other would make it harder to vote for those who lack photo ID.  Senate Bill 154, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, would remove Social Security cards and public benefit car ds from the additional documents that voters may use — along with signing an affidavit attesting to their identity — if they cannot provide a primary form of identification, such as a Kentucky-issued drivers license.  After much debate, the bill passed the Senate 31-7.  Tichenor argued that the two forms of identification struck from use are not photo IDs, and don’t align with calls across the country for photo ID laws. The U.S. House, under narrow GOP-control, passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE America Act) last week with an added photo ID measure. The Kentucky General Assembly passed a 2020 law requiring voters to present photo IDs but also providing options for voters who lack photo ID.  “You have to show a photo ID in a variety of places across the state — in order to enter buildings, in order to purchase things, in order to rent equipment or cars, a hotel, you have to show a photo ID. Even in Congress, you have to show an ID in order to place a vote,” Tichenor said on the Senate floor. “So, it’s silly to me that we could place a vote without an ID in the state of Kentucky for one of our congressmen, but they have to use an ID in order to place a vote to represent us.”  A few Democrats objected that SB 154 would make it harder for Kentuckians to vote when there is little evidence of voter fraud in elections, while Republicans said the bill was necessary to curb election fraud, no matter how few those instances are.  Senate Democratic Whip Cassie Chambers Armstrong, of Louisville, noted that Social Security cards are used to apply for some photo IDs, like U.S. passports or a REAL ID.  “It’s a very secure means of identification, and I believe that someone that goes to the polls and affirms under penalty of perjury that they are the person whose name is on the voter rolls and produces a Social Security card to show the same, should be able to vote and understands that they are facing high consequences if they’re not able to do so,” she said.  Armstrong also referred to a previous debate when Republicans said it was hard to get a driver’s license in rural areas of the state because of the regional driver’s licensing system.A Senate GOP priority bill aims to allow some county offices to choose to issue renewals.  Another Louisville Democrat, Minority Floor Leader Gerald Neal, said that he has not seen evidence of “almost any voter fraud anywhere, including Kentucky” and that the bill “trying to cure a problem that does not exist” but affects those who want to vote.  “It’s a big issue as a part of a strategy that many believe is a voter suppression strategy, and it’s not about whether or not we’re protecting the vote, because we know there is negligible, almost to nothing, in terms of our voting systems that indicate that they’re fraudulent across the United States of America,” he said. “So, you have to ask the question, why would you even go this route?”  Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, from Manchester, said that as an attorney, he has seen several lawsuits deal with voter fraud. One he referred to was when former Bath County Attorney Donald “Champ” Maze served time for a vote buying scheme and perjury.  Chambers Armstrong later asked Stivers if any of those cases he mentioned involved Social Security cards.  “It involved a lot of different things,” he said, such as failure of a voter to be identified at a polling place and Kiwi shoe polish.  Majority Caucus Chair Robby Mills, R-Henderson, said polling shows Americans support photo ID laws. A 2024 Gallup poll found that 84% of Americans support requiring photo ID at voting places in order to vote.  “They simply do not have a photo on them for the voting official to look at your card and look at your face and make sure you are the person you’re saying you are,” Mills said of the struck identification forms in the bill.  Sen. Robin Webb, a Republican from Grayson who changed her party registration last year, was the lone Republican voting against the bill, joining Democrats in the chamber. She said that she would be against excluding Social Security and benefit cards as voter ID until the bill passed to expand drivers’ licensing services to county officials to “restore the ability of my disenfranchised individuals that do struggle with transportation and other issues to to have access to a photo ID.”  Another voting bill, Senate Bill 80, passed the Senate Friday 35-3 with less debate. Sponsored by Lebanon Republican Sen. Jimmy Higdon and Louisville Democrat Sen. Keturah Herron, the bill proposes a constitutional amendment to restore the right to vote after a felony conviction except when the felony involved treason, election bribery or fraud, a crime against a child or violent or sexual offenses. If passed by the General Assembly this session, Kentucky voters must decide to approve or reject the amendment.  Higdon said on the Senate floor that the chamber had passed similar legislation in 2020, but the session had adjourned early because of the coronavirus pandemic. Higdon said the purpose of the legislation is to “help clear up confusion” from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s 2019 executive order that restored the right to vote to some people who had served time for convicted felonies.  “Over the years, a lack of enabling legislation has caused uncertainty for county clerks, courts and individuals seeking to have their rights restored,” Higdon said.  Herron said that she began working as a concerned citizen with Higdon on the legislation before she was elected to the General Assembly. She added that the bill is about giving second chances to people who are “going through the recovery process or reintegrating back into our communities.” “We’re talking about individuals who come home, who have completed their sentence, they have completed probation and parole — sometimes that can be up to 20 or 30 years. These individuals are working class people,” she said. “They are business owners. They are taxpayers. And I believe that once individuals complete their sentence and they’re off probation and parole, we should automatically give them their rights back to vote.” The bill passed out of a committee Wednesday morning. Those voting against the bill on the floor were Republican Sens. Danny Carroll, Chris McDaniel and Phillip Wheeler.  Both bills now go to the House for further consideration. The post KY Senate votes to tighten voter ID requirements, advance felon voting rights amendment appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less