LITTLE ROCK — The House Rules Committee voted Wednesday to advise the House speaker that a Senate bill to require voters to show photo identification at the polls was properly passed by the Senate.
Senate Bill 2 by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, was on the House floor for a vote Tuesday but was stalled when Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, questioned whether the bill had received enough votes to pass the Senate.
Nickels argued that the proposal would change Amendment 51 of the state constitution, which establishes requirements for voter registration, and therefore would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate. King and supporters of the bill have argued that the bill has nothing to do with voter registration.
SB 2 passed the Senate on a 23-12 vote, one vote shy of a two-thirds majority in the 35-member body.
House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, asked the rules panel to consider Nickels’ objection. On Wednesday the panel heard arguments for and against Nickels’ position and ultimately decided in a voice vote to recommend that the bill be heard on the House floor.
The bill is on the House’s Wednesday calendar.