WE DID IT! Election Reform Bill On Governor's Desk

RED LETTER DAY: It's being reported that Governor Richardson will sign the bill today or tomorrow. Thanks to all the legislators, analysts, staffers, citizen lobbyists, phone callers, email senders, letter writers and progressive and election reform groups who worked so hard on this effort! We'll be doing a more formal thank you soon, but for now, you know who you are!

From the :

SANTA FE - An election reform bill backed by Gov. Bill Richardson cleared the Legislature with just hours remaining in the annual session.

The Senate went along with changes to the bill made by the House, which had approved it 39-26 after more than three hours of debate Friday. Republicans tried unsuccessfully to toughen its voter ID provisions.

The bill includes a requirement that New Mexicans provide some identification at the polls and a mandate that voting machines have a paper trail.

The House vote was nearly party-line, with Democrats supporting the bill and Republicans opposing it.

Rep. Edward Sandoval, D-Albuquerque, called it "landmark legislation."

"This bill will make New Mexico's election process more accurate and timely and make voting more user-friendly for New Mexico voters," he said.

Republicans were less enamored with the proposal.

"It's a small step but it isn't voter ID. It is voter ID with a wink and a nod," said Rep. Justine Fox-Young, R-Albuquerque.

Acceptable voter identification under the measure includes a photo ID, a utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck, or student or tribal ID.

But the legislation also allows voters to simply provide _ either verbally or in writing _ their name, year of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

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