By Bob Plain in
RIFuture.org
First he promised to bring a vote on marriage equality if he gets
re-elected, now he says he’ll force the House of Representatives to take
another look at the newly enacted voter ID law too.
“Should I be fortunate to be re-elected, I will be sponsoring
legislation to include a ‘sunset provision’ in the law,” said Speaker of the
House Gordon Fox, in an email to me on Monday evening. “The sunset would force
a ‘re-look’ at the law, which means legislative hearings would be held to learn
the effectiveness of the law and whether modifications need to be made. That would
include looking at the more restrictive provisions set to be enacted for the
2014 election cycle.”
2014 is the first election voters would be required to show a
photo ID; in this election voters area allowed to show any form of
identification, including utility bills.
In his email, Fox compared the potential voter ID sunset
provision with one in the newly enacted seat belt law passed last year.
Fox co-sponsored the voter ID with outgoing conservative Rep.
Jon Brien of Woonsocket, who lost in a primary but is still attempting to keep
his seat through a writ-in campaign. Brien and Fox, once allies, have become
estranged as of late.
It started when Brien wouldn’t support a supplemental
property tax for Woonsocket at the end of the legislative session, but increased
and became public when Brien said he didn’t know the loan guarantee legislation
he sponsored in 2010 was going to 38 Studios. Fox says Brien is lying about
this to protect his reputation.
Brien is a board member of ALEC, which is well-known for pushing
voter ID bills in state legislatures around the country. Rhode Island’s version
is less restrictive than the ALEC model legislation.
Fox said, “I voted in favor of the Voter ID law after listening
to concerns raised about voter fraud by fellow members of the minority
community such as Rep. Anastasia Williams and Sen. Harold Metts. We
passed one of the least restrictive Voter ID laws in the country, allowing a
voter in 2012 to show virtually any type of ID – which doesn’t need to include
a photo. However, the law we passed toughens requirements for the 2014
election to include just photo IDs.”
John Marion, executive director of Common Cause RI, said he
“welcomes” an opportunity to revisit the controversial law.
“I will be very interested to see what the Speaker comes up
with,” he said. “I have heard other opponents who are interested in freezing
the law at the 2012 requirements, so this will be a lively debate if there are
multiple proposals out there.”
While 30 states have voter ID laws, according to ProPublica, only ten states require a
photo ID as Rhode Island’s law would require next election cycle. Those ten
state are: Pennsylvania (which is being challenged in court), Florida,
Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, South Dakota, Kansas and
Idaho.
Fox first said he would reconsider the voter ID law in a televised debate on WPRI.
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of
Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a reporter for several
different news organizations both in Rhode Island and across the country.
