RIVERTON (WNE) — In a meeting in Fort Washakie last week, members of the Wyoming Select Committee on Tribal Relations worked through a proposed bill that would endow tribal identification cards with the voting criteria mandated by federal law.

Federal law says a registered driver may not use a tribal ID alone to register to vote, as tribal ID cards do not link to criminal history and other databases.

However, tribal leaders and legislators, along with Fremont County Clerk Julie Freese and Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, have worked through a proposed bill that would allow tribal IDs to be used in voter registration — if they’re printed with a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.

State law currently requires that any person registered to drive in Wyoming must produce their driver’s license number to vote; a person not licensed to drive may give the last four digits of his or her Social Security number and an accepted form of identification — including a tribal ID.

During Monday’s meeting Freese said she is “excited” about the bill. “It puts a little bit of onus on the tribes” to add the information to the tribal ID card, she said, but county government is “ready to roll with it.”