Justices upholds Georgia's voter ID requirement

AP/NY Times:

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday approved rules governing Georgia's new photo IDs for voters, clearing the way for the State Election Board to decide whether to require them for the July 18 primary.

The rules establish what kinds of documents must be presented to obtain one of the free IDs, as well as where and when they will be distributed. Critics of the law -- which mandates that all voters present a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot -- are expected to respond by seeking an injunction to block the law.

The Republican-backed law was passed in 2005, but a federal judge blocked enforcement, saying it amounted to an unconstitutional poll tax. The state Legislature amended the law early this year to make the IDs free of charge.

Under rules the Election Board adopted last week by a 3-1 vote, anyone needing a voter ID card must provide one or more documents showing date of birth, evidence of being registered to vote, and proof of name and address.

Student ID cards, nursing home cards, a pilot's license, a birth certificate, a utility bill and a bank statement are among items on the long list of acceptable forms of ID.

...

Opponents of the bill want to make it easier for fraudulant votes to be cast. Virtually all of the opponents to this reasonable requirement are Democrats. It will now be harder for them to round up people and present them at the polls without any identification or ver registration. Most voter fraud in this country has been for the benefit of Democrats. Otherwise they would not oppose requirements that are no more onerous than people see everyday in commercial transactions.

Comments

  1. Has there been one reported case of voter fraud in Georgia?

    Do you have any links or articles that show the depth (or lack thereof) this problem?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am not sure about Georgia in particular, but there have been cases documented in other states and the very lack of requirements for ID has permitted it to go undectected. I have seen no rational reason for not having a voter ID.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In a Republican-controlled state that's never had a case of voter fraud, I find this logic dubious when it largely affects the poorer people of the state (traditional Democrat supporters).

    Creating a false crisis and then making it harder for people to vote is un-democratic.

    ReplyDelete

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