OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — With only ten days left in the legislative session, there are some bills that aren’t going to be heard.
But one issue that lawmakers can’t ignore is voter ID. Because Nebraskans voted to implement a voter ID law, the Unicameral is required to pass a bill establishing specific requirements.
If they don’t get to it by the end of the session, the senators will have to return this summer for a special session.
This session's voter ID bill, LB 535, was almost ready to hit the floor for debate this week but a potential rules violation bounced it back to committee.
“I objected for the sake of preventing a precedent where a member of the executive branch, be it the governor, the deputy secretary of state for elections, or anyone else in another branch of government, could come into an executive session of a committee hearing and provide information, misinformation, orders or otherwise to our legislative branch when we are doing our business,” said Sen. Julie Slama.
The delays started after the Government and Military Affairs Committee voted to adopt an amendment, AM 1748, which was pushed by Sen. Tom Brewer and was crafted with the help of Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office.
Brewer’s amendment calls for verification of a voter's ID at the time they register to vote. Slama disagreed with that strategy, arguing that verifying when you register is fraud-friendly and unconstitutional.
Evnen disagreed with that assessment saying in a statement, in part: “The amendment we prepared provides for a confirmation of citizenship in connection with voter registration, which is where it should be. It appeared that Senator Slama’s provisions concerning citizenship checks violate federal law. Such provisions help no one."
There is also the question of cost. Officials with the secretary of state’s office estimate Slama’s proposal could cost as much as $23.6 million dollars. Brewer's would cost $1.8 million.
But Slama’s main point of contention on Thursday was that the deputy secretary of state participated in that executive session; something she argued was in violation of the legislature’s rules.
“I am stating that LB 535 was advanced by the government committee in violation of Rule 3, Section 16 in that an unauthorized person was allowed to attend and participate in the executive session in which the bill was advanced,” said Slama during floor debate on Thursday.
Slama’s protest was successful and the bill went back to committee for another executive session before being voted out again with the same AM 1748 filed.
Because of the delay in re-submitting to committee, the bill won’t be debated this week.
Time is running out for legislators, but Slama isn’t letting that stop her from fighting for her vision for voter ID.
She responded by quickly filing two dozen of her own amendments, signaling that the battle for voter ID might drag past the deadline and into a special session this summer.
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