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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Duran		DATE TYPED:	02/20/01		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Voter Identification Pilot Program				SB	802
					ANALYST:		Woodlee

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY01

FY02

FY01

FY02

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Secretary of State

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 802 proposes to amend Section 1-12-10 NMSA 1978 to require voters of a voter identification pilot program to present one of the following forms of identification:

•New Mexico voter registration card;
•Social Security card;
•Valid New Mexico driver's license;
•any other identification card issued by an agency of the state, its subdivision, or the United States;
•Any picture identification card;
•A credit card or current bill with the voter's address; or
•Any valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the employee, issued by an employer for ordinary course of the employer's business.

In addition, the bill provides that if the voter is unable to present such identification, then they shall be allowed to vote after executing a statement swearing or affirming they are the named registered voter. Knowingly providing a false statement in such a case constitutes perjury as provided in Section 30-25-1 NMSA 1978 and voting on the basis of this statements constitutes false voting as provided in Section 1-20-8 NMSA 1978.

The bill provides that the provisions of the voter identification shall only apply to eight counties who will participate in the voter identification pilot project. The eight counties are to be determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the county clerks of the state. The Secretary of State will make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the program after receiving reports from the county clerks. The program will terminate after the 2002 general election.

Significant Issues

According to the Secretary of State, digital signature technology could resolve the identification issue without requiring certified identification. This is able to be implemented in eight New Mexico counties implementing the Voter Registration and Election Management System (VREMS) for $10.0. However, this would not address the remaining counties yet to implement the VREMS.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No appropriation or significant fiscal implications contained in the bill.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

It is possible the voting process could be slightly delayed because of the added task of checking identification cards.

MW/njw