Ellison rolls out bills to take on new state voter ID laws
Posted at 4:25 PM on November 2, 2011
by Brett Neely
Filed under: U.S. House
WASHINGTON - Rep. Keith Ellison has introduced two bills in the U.S. House to combat state voting laws introduced primarily by Republicans in 34 states that the DFL lawmaker says would "disenfranchise" millions of Americans.
One bill would require all states to offer same-day voter registration for federal elections, similar to what Minnesota has offered for many years.
The second bill prevents state officials from requiring photo identification before a citizen is allowed to vote.
Ellison's bills are co-sponsored by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI). Given that Republicans are behind many of these state-level voting laws and that GOP members regularly express concern about voter fraud, it's unlikely that the GOP-controlled House will take up either bill.
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