The Davidson County Election Commission’s incompetent disregard for the security of voter identity information, which has put 337,000 Nashvillians at grave risk of identity theft, highlights the need for the state to revamp its Voter ID laws and require a photo ID to vote.

The Davidson County Election Commission allowed Social Security numbers and other identifying info for 337,000 voters to be left completely unsecured on laptop PCs. The laptops were reportedly to be used for voter identity verification at polling places on the Feb. 5 presidential primary. It was stolen from the Election Commission offices over the Christmas holidays.

This incident has demolished the trust that voters should have in Davidson County Election Commission to protect their identity information, and highlights the need for the Tennessee legislature to enact legislation requiring voters to present some kind of a photo ID in order to vote.

Republicans in the state Senate passed legislation to require a voter photo ID last year, but the Democrat-controlled state House refused to even take up the measure. If the proposal had become law, there would have been no need for any county election commission to load such sensitive personal data onto laptop PC – and the theft of the laptops would not have put 337,000 people at risk of identity theft.

“Last night, Americans witnessed, on national television, individuals present a driver’s license or photo card and sign in beside a barcode in a data base to validate their legal participation in the Iowa Caucus. There was neither disruption nor reduced turnout – in fact, turnout for the Iowa vote is described as ‘historical’ in number,” stated TRP Chairman Robin Smith.

The Davidson County Election Commission in Tennessee’s capitol city has had a previous situation involving the current DCEC Chairman requesting an employee to access private information of an individual for partisan purposes. The DCEC is controlled by democrats.

The Tennessee Republican Party expects swift, corrective and lasting action by the DCEC to protect voters and the integrity of the voting process, and encourages Democrat legislators to support a statewide voter photo ID requirement.

Several states now require a photo ID to vote, in order to prevent vote fraud, including Indiana and Georgia. New research conducted by the Institute of Public Policy in the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri has found that Indiana’s voter photo ID law has not depressed voter turnout - indeed, it may have increased it.

The study, The Effects of Photographic Identification on Voter Turnout in Indiana: A County Level Analysis, published by the Institute of Public Policy in the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, is on the Internet:

http://truman.missouri.edu/uploads/Publications/Report%2010-2007.pdf