In what has become an annual ritual at the state Legislature, a House committee on Tuesday voted along party lines to effectively kill measures that would require voters to present photo identification before casting ballots at the polls.

During a two-hour hearing before the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, Republicans argued that people voting under someone else's name -- or at least the potential of such fraud -- is a serious problem.

"There is a crisis in confidence," said Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, sponsor of one of the bills. "People do not trust that votes are tallied fair and square."

Democrats counter that there's never been any proof of wide-scale voter fraud and that such laws would discriminate against those who are less likely to have driver's licenses and other photo identification -- namely minorities, the elderly and the disabled.

"It seems like evidence of voter fraud is largely anecdotal," said Rep. Bill O'Neill, D-Albuquerque.

There has been a push for photo ID bills by Republican legislators in states across the country in recent years.

Three bills were discussed and eventually voted down Tuesday: House Bill 113, sponsored by Brown; HB 207, sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park; and HB 235, sponsored by Rep. Dianne Hamilton, R-Silver City.

Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a Republican who is a longtime advocate of photo-identification laws, said Smith's bill -- a 55-page measure that was the result of work by a bipartisan committee of county clerks from around the state -- was the most comprehensive of the three.

That bill would allow expired driver's licenses to be used for voter identification. A voter without identification, under that bill, would be allowed to give poll workers a date of birth and Social Security number, which the poll workers would have to verify with the county clerk.

But all three bills were opposed by groups including the League of Women Voters, Common Cause New Mexico, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Native American Voting Alliance and Disability Rights New Mexico.

At the hearing, opponents far outnumbered proponents of photo identification. Brown said she wished the hearing could be held someplace other than Santa Fe -- a heavily Democratic city.

Committee Chairwoman Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, said proponents of the bills were correct that there's a perception of massive voting fraud, which she said was the fault of some advocates of such laws. "Sometimes our constituents mislead us," she said. "It's our responsibility not to fan the flames."

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.