Senate panel endorses bid to reinstate Voter ID law

LITTLE ROCK — A Senate panel has advanced a reworked proposal to reinstate an Arkansas voter ID law that was struck down more than two years ago as unconstitutional.

The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday endorsed the proposal requiring voters to show photo identification before they cast a ballot. It’s nearly identical to a 2013 law the state Supreme Court struck down in 2014.

The House-backed measure was amended to allow voters who don’t show ID to cast a provisional ballot if they sign a sworn statement confirming their identity. The bill now heads to the full Senate.

The bill is aimed at addressing a concern three of the court’s seven justices raised that the 2013 law didn’t pass with enough votes in the Legislature when it was enacted.