LAWRENCE — These days, you've got to flash identification to fly on a plane, enter a public school or even buy cold medicine at the drugstore. Here in Lawrence, if local leaders have their way, you will also have to present a photo ID to vote.
Officials are again pushing to make Lawrence the first city or town in Massachusetts to require photo identification to get into the voting booth. They say folks are so accustomed to showing their IDs for a variety of other reasons that it won't bother them at the polls.
Above all, supporters said the law will bring integrity into city elections, which in Lawrence are almost always followed by reports of fraud. But folks on the other side of the argument, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said the law will impede the voting process — a basic American right.
Mayor Michael Sullivan, backed by the City Council, yesterday signed and sent a home rule petition to the Legislature asking for state approval of the voter ID plan. But similar proposals, launched by Lawrence and other communities, have failed over the years because lawmakers wouldn't approve such a law for a single community.
So why do locals think it's going to pass now?
"Because people are more aware. They know something's been going on," said Marie Gosselin, a former city councilor who remains an active city resident. "What's wrong with having to show a picture with an ID? You do it to get on a plane, on a cruise, at the bank."
Also, Gosselin works at the polls on election days. "I've seen people walk in and take out their IDs. They do it voluntarily," she said.
Under the plan, acceptable ID at the polls include a driver's license, state identification card, with photo, or a valid passport. Twenty-five states in the country already require some form of ID at the polls.
City Council President Patrick Blanchette, a supporter, said government needs to ensure the people voting "are actually who they say they are." And it's not a lot to ask, especially nowadays.
"I don't think anyone in today's world flinches when they are asked for a photo ID when cashing a check at the bank or verifying other personal information. This, in essence, is the same thing," he said.
Above all, "it will put some of the voter fraud accusations to bed and hopefully produce cleaner elections," he said.
Sullivan agreed.
"This will put more honesty in the process. It will take the uncertainty out of elections," the mayor said this week.
Past Lawrence elections have come with reports of people being bused in to vote, dead men showing up at the polls and people walking in to vote in place of others. But, to date, no one has ever been charged or prosecuted for election-related offenses.
In Massachusetts, poll workers, under election law, can ask for identification or proof of residency in certain cases. A new voter who registers by mail or an inactive voter may be asked to show a photo ID or a current utility bill, said Brian McNiff, spokesman for the Massachusetts secretary of state.
But such checks must be "consistent and based on reasonable suspicion," McNiff said.
How much support the plan has from lawmakers also is questionable. State Rep. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, reached yesterday, said he's still on a fact-finding mission. He plans to talk with workers in the secretary of state's office, City Clerk William Maloney and city councilors.
"I'm planning on doing a lot of listening," he said.
In 2003, state Rep. William Lantigua, D-Lawrence, supported the voter ID plan. He could not be reached for comment for this story yesterday.
Gosselin put the voter ID proposal on the council agenda before leaving office last year. In November, she lost her council seat to Michael Fielding by 73 votes.
