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Silver City Republican Introduces Voter ID Bill

By KRWG News

New Mexico – A proposal to require voter identification is back before the Legislature.

Rep. Dianne Hamilton, a Silver City Republican, introduced a bill on Wednesday to require New Mexico voters to show a government identification card with a photograph, such as a driver's license. Native Americans could use a tribally issued document as identification.

Hamilton said a voter identification requirement will provide more integrity in state elections, but opponents said in the past that it would be a burden on a person's right to vote and could discourage some people from going to the polls.

Similar proposals have failed in the Democratic-controlled Legislature but the outlook for legislation has changed this session because Republicans gained more House seats in last year's election.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.