The Democratic governor said Friday that Senate Bill 2 would create an obstacle to voting.
"First of all, I'd be against this bill even if the coronavirus wasn't here. I want to be transparent about that." Beshear said, "I think more people should vote, and I was the attorney general for four years and we never had one case of someone trying to impersonate another because they didn't have a photo ID. It just doesn't happen."
The measure passed the state Senate and House by wide margins. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene April 13, when they would typically consider overriding any vetoes. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams urged lawmakers to do just that, saying he hopes, "the Governor will eventually join me in governing from the center."
Beshear said, "The fact that somebody would need something to vote that right now they absolutely can't get because of the coronavirus, I think is a wrong move and absolutely needed to be vetoed."
Beshear said he and Adams are currently considering holding the rescheduled June 23 primary election by mail-in ballot, since leaders are worried that a spike in COVID-19 cases could occur. He added that requiring an ID would present even more problems under this scenario.