By Dion Lefler

The Wichita Eagle

TOPEKA — A bill requiring citizens to provide photo identification when they vote passed both houses of the Legislature on Tuesday and is headed for the governor's desk.

But the margin of victory in the House was not enough to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, should she decide to veto the measure, now known as House Bill 2019.

The governor's office was noncommittal, but Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, said he expects the governor will veto this bill as she has other voter ID legislation in the past.

Sawyer served on the House-Senate conference committee that handled the bill. In a meeting Saturday, he said the governor had expressed concern about enforcing the ID requirement before 2012.

The committee settled on 2010 and sent the measure to the floor without the consent of Sawyer and the other Democrats on the committee, Sen. Donald Betts, D-Wichita.

The bill sailed through the Senate 27-3, a veto-proof majority even with four senators abstaining and six absent.

The House approved it by a less-enthusiastic 67-56 — not nearly enough to overturn a veto.

The bill would require that voters present one of several forms of ID in order to cast a ballot.

It exempts the disabled, voters 65 and older, and active-duty military personnel and their families.

This year's elections would be the dress rehearsal.

Voters would be asked to show ID, but could still vote without it.

Supporters of photo ID have argued that it's necessary to prevent and detect fraudulent voting, primarily by immigrants who are ineligible to cast a ballot.

"Granted there are minimal cases where they have proven fraud," acknowledged Rep. Mike Burgess, R-Topeka, a supporter of the bill. "But (without voter ID) we can't prove there isn't fraud. It is one of those catch 22's."

Opponents say there is no such fraud, never has been and that the ID requirement is primarily aimed at discouraging poor and minority voters.

"We're disenfranchising not only poor people, not only minorities, but also some people with disabilities or people in medical homes," said Rep. Delia Garcia, D-Wichita.

Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, has championed the issue for four years and was beaming after it passed.

"It's exciting," Huelskamp said, adding that it was appropriate that the bill passed on the day of the Indiana primary. Tuesday marked the first election in that state since its law was upheld in a Supreme Court test case last month.

Huelskamp said any voter inconvenience would be minimal because almost everyone who's eligible to vote has ID and poor people will be able to get a free one -- a requirement to pass Supreme Court muster.

The bill lists eight types of identification that can be used at the polls: a driver's license, a state nondriver ID card, a passport, an employee badge, a debit or credit card, military identification, student identification or a public assistance ID card.

But Betts said in the real world, only a driver's license, nondriver ID or a passport would actually work.

The other forms of ID are unlikely to meet a requirement that the ID include a photo, signature and expiration date.

Huelskamp acknowledged that some of the IDs types listed would not be usable.

But he said that will change as IDs become more sophisticated. If problems arise this year, the Legislature can tinker with the list before the next election, he said.

In another election-related matter, the House and Senate passed a bill to require a special election to fill a Kansas' seat in the U.S. Senate if there is a vacancy between regular elections.

House Bill 2683 passed 64-59 in the House and 23-8 in the Senate.

Both bills include language to establish a date for a presidential primary election on the first Saturday in February.

However, whether those elections will be held will depend on whether future Legislatures budget the money.