When a voter presents an application for ballot to a precinct registrar, present law generally requires that the voter also present to the precinct registrar one form of identification that bears the name and photograph of the voter. Present law also requires a voter to verify the voter's identification by supplying one of the following: (1) A Tennessee driver license; (2) A valid identification card issued by the state, or the United States where authorized by law to issue personal identification; provided, that such identification card contains a photograph of the voter. An identification card issued to a student by an institution of higher education containing a photograph of a student is not evidence of identification for voting purposes; (3) A valid Tennessee photo identification license; (4) A valid U.S. passport; (5) A valid employee identification card issued by the state, or the United States where authorized by law to issue employee identification; provided, that such identification card contains a photograph of the voter; (6) A valid U.S. military identification card; provided, that such identification card contains a photograph of the voter; or (7) An employee identification card for retired state employees. This bill replaces the list in (1) – (7), and instead requires that the identification presented to the precinct registrar for voter identification must, in addition to bearing the voter's name and photograph, also: (1) Bear the voter's residential address; (2) Have been obtained with documented proof of U.S. citizenship; (3) Include the voter's photograph, current residential address, and expiration date of the identification; (4) Indicate that the individual meets eligibility requirements for voting, including U.S. citizenship; (5) Accommodate for the permanently disabled and include a process for permanent identification; and (6) Not be an identification card issued to a student by an institution of higher education. This bill requires the state coordinator of elections to: (1) Promulgate rules for training all election commissioners, election employees, election officials, and poll workers for procedures at the polls; and (2) In concurrence with the secretary of state, provide public access to information regarding how to obtain and the proper use of voter identification as required for the procedures to vote. This bill deletes references to punchcard ballots. This bill adds that verification of a person's residential address for purposes of processing the voter's application to vote must not include a digital source or sources.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2-7-112(a)(1), 2-7-112, 2-7-112(c), 2-7-112(a)(3)(A)(vi), 2-7-112(a)(3)(B)(i), 2-7-112(d)