West Virginia voters went to the polls Tuesday under a newly tightened voter identification law that required photo ID at polling places for the first time, election officials said. The change applied as voters cast ballots in a primary election that included nominations for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the state legislature, along with the election of two new state Supreme Court justices.
Secretary of State Kris Warner said his office had not heard of anyone demanding to vote without a photo ID during the in-person early voting period that ended Saturday. Warner said the state had asked residents to use photo IDs for the past few elections, so “it was not a big shock that it was now law,” according to remarks made Monday. He described the goal as verifying identity, saying the “whole point of the law is just making sure you are who you say you are.”
Warner also said that during statewide travel over the prior two weeks, he was told of some instances in which voters returned to their vehicles to retrieve a photo ID after entering a polling place. He said at least one voter used an exception under the law by filling out a form that was verified by a poll worker who has known the voter for at least six months, and he said exceptions were also available for first-time voters.
Some voters said the new requirement was manageable. John Query, a 37-year-old brewery general manager and a registered Democrat, brought his two stepsons to vote near the state Capitol in Charleston and said he showed his ID in compliance with the new law. Query said, “I understand it’s prohibitive to some,” adding, “I wouldn’t prefer it that way.”
Others raised concerns about access. Tina Scala, a 60-year-old nurse from Cross Lanes, said the photo ID requirement was harmful and discriminatory. “I think it’s harmful,” Scala said. “I think it’s discriminatory, takes us back decades.” Scala said she does not view illegal voting as a widespread problem, arguing that opponents of the law are being portrayed as if the measure follows widespread fraud, and that the practical effect would be to interfere with voters. “They’re trying to portray it as a good thing to get (after) voter fraud, which isn’t really happening,” Scala said. “And what actually is going to happen is going to interfere with women’s ability to vote.”
State election officials and some proponents said the measure is intended to bolster confidence in elections. West Virginia election administrators said the law changed which forms of identification can be used at polling places, eliminating options such as utility bills, bank statements, hunting and fishing licenses, bank or debit cards, and concealed carry gun permits. Acceptable photo IDs were listed by the AP story as including driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, military IDs, employee IDs issued by a government agency, and student IDs from a high school or college. Warner also said the law allows senior citizens to use expired driver’s licenses if the license was valid on their 65th birthday.
Local election administrators described practical steps for verifying identity. Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney said her county for several years has used an electronic system to scan bar codes on the back of driver’s licenses to check in voters at polling places. Blaney said the approach helps voters feel secure and reinforces the security of elections when poll workers verify that a photo ID matches the person voting. “I think that it makes voters feel more secure, or it confirms for the voters the security of our elections when we are verifying a photo to a person,” Blaney said.
The AP story said the law passed last year through West Virginia’s Republican-supermajority legislature. It said all votes against it were cast by Democrats. Officials said the photo ID requirement was used for the first time Tuesday, and they reported seeing very few glitches.