House panel advances plan to reinstate Arkansas voter ID law

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An Arkansas House panel has backed a proposal to reinstate the state's voter ID law that was struck down more than two years ago, moving forward with the restriction months after Republicans expanded their majorities in the Legislature.

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee endorsed the proposal Wednesday requiring most voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. The measure now heads to the House.

The Arkansas Supreme Court in 2014 struck down the state's voter ID law as unconstitutional. The latest proposal is aimed at addressing a concern three of the court's seven justices raised that the prohibition didn't pass with enough votes in the Legislature when it was enacted in 2013. The voter ID measure will require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.