Rep. Tommie Brown, D-ChattanoogaNASHVILLE – A bill repealing Tennessee’s controversial new voter ID law unexpectedly passed a Republican-controlled House panel Wednesday.
Republican officials later predicted the bill won’t get much further.
The measure would eliminate a Republican-backed requirement passed last year that mandates registered voters have state or federally issued photo identification before being allowed to cast a ballot.
It was approved on a 5-3 vote by members of the House State and Local Government Committee.
Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville, and Rep. Kent Williams, an independent from Elizabethton, sided with the panel’s three Democrats, including Rep. Tommie Brown, of Chattanooga, in favor of the repeal bill.