Tucked inside House Democrats’ new coronavirus bill is language that would create a loophole in states’ voter ID requirements, allowing people to cast ballots without having to prove who they are.
While the crux of the bill, revealed Tuesday, is a massive injection of taxpayer aid for states, localities and federal agencies dealing with the virus, Democrats also tackled some of their long-standing political goals.
One section of the bill would require states to allow at least 15 days of in-person early voting before Election Day this year, and to also allow voting by mail for any reason, overriding states that have more limited policies.
The new bill would also require that absentee ballots be counted if they arrive up to 10 days after Election Day.
And the legislation says that states that require voter IDs to cast a ballot must allow voters to meet the requirement by self-certifying to their own identity.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says 36 states have some voter ID requirement. About a half dozen of those are “strict” photo ID laws, requiring someone who wants to cast a ballot without photo ID to return with proof within three days for their ballot to be counted.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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