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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2009 > March > 04 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHouse, like Senate, votes to require voters prove citizenship
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As the Senate did a day ago, the House on Wednesday adopted legislation requiring people registering to vote to prove their citizenship.
HB 45, sponsored by Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), is similar to SB 86, which the Senate adopted on Tuesday. HB 45 passed the House 102-63.
Mills’ bill generated heated debate over the course of about two hours. Mills said it is a measure that “protects the voting systems and the integrity of the system we now have in place.”
Mills said that last year nearly 5,000 voters had their citizenship questioned by Secretary of State Karen Handel. Those voters received letters demanding proof of citizenship. The fact that only 57 percent responded, Mills said, means more than 2,700 people whose citizenship was in doubt “did not respond, yet they voted and participated in our past election.”
But, under questioning from Rep. Stephanie Benfield (D-Atlanta), Mills was able to only offer a single example of anyone being caught trying to violate existing citizenship rules for voters.
Rep. Pedro “Pete” Marin (D-Duluth) accused Mills and the bill’s supporters of “playing the race card” by pursuing legislation he said was designed to suppress voter participation by minorities and legal immigrants who gain citizenship.
But Mills and Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton) rejected statements from Marin and others and said opponents were the ones injecting race into the issue.
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