Washington State: house committee modifies election-reform bills
The Seattle Times reports: A House committee, racing to meet a deadline yesterday, passed a modified version of the Senate's extensive election-reform package over the objections of Republicans, some of whom stormed out of the meeting before the votes were complete.
Of the five bills passed, the most contentious were measures to enhance voter-registration record-keeping and an omnibus bill that standardizes election procedures. Both passed on 5-4 votes along party lines.
More than a dozen GOP amendments to the two main bills, including one that would require photo identification at the polls, were defeated by the Democratic majority on the House State Government, Operations & Accountability Committee. ...
Democrats removed identification requirements at the polls, something that Gov. Christine Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed supported and the original Senate bill required, either in the form of photo ID or a voter-registration card. -- The Seattle Times: Local News: Some Republicans storm out as panel OKs election reforms