AARP Opposes Voter ID Constitutional Amendment

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AARP Nebraska testified March 2 at the State Capitol in opposition to LR1CA, a proposed constitutional amendment requiring Nebraska voters to show photo ID at polling places.

“AARP believes that the right of all citizens to vote in free and fair elections is among the most basic of all civil rights and must be vigorously upheld,” Advocacy Director Mark Intermill told senators on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

He said that LR1CA would prevent some eligible citizens from voting, especially older Nebraskans who are the least likely to have state-issued driver’s licenses and may not have another form of photo ID. In 2015, more than 11,000 Nebraskans age 85 and over did not hold a driver’s license.

“Some of these individuals have been voting since the Hoover-Roosevelt election of 1932. I don’t know how requiring them to present a photo ID enhances the sanctity of the election process,” Intermill said. “Nebraskans have elected leaders who have managed the state’s affairs successfully for 150 years and a day without requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls.”

He concluded that incidents of voter impersonation are rare and the cost of amending Nebraska’s Constitution to require photo ID from voters outweighs any benefits.