Elizabeth Hartline Green

To Vote or Not to Vote? In Georgia It All Depends on the Courts and a Bad Voter ID Bill

Posted on behalf of our fabulous new Communications Intern, Elizabeth Hartline Green.

For the past few years, Georgia has been embroiled in a bitter debate over whether the state can enforce its voter ID law. The law requires all voters to present a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. This seems benign enough, until the issue is looked at a little more closely. The law was passed under the pretense of preventing voter fraud. Fine, I guess. Except for the little fact that Georgia has never had any instances of in-person voter fraud.

In addition to solving this non-problem, Georgia's voter ID law does something much more damaging : it loosens restrictions on absentee ballots, making the most predominate type of voter fraud easier to perpetuate.

So, why exactly was the law passed? In order to find out, we must take a look into Georgia's racial politics. The state legislature is currently held by Republicans, and backed by Republican Governor Sonny Perdue. Meanwhile, most of the state's 30% black population tend to vote for Democratic candidates, as do many elderly residents. People for the American Way reports that 700,000 Georgia voters do not have drivers licenses (the most common form of government-issued photo IDs); most of these people are poor, elderly, or racial minorities. Is it a coincidence that the voter ID law will disenfranchise those who usually vote against Republicans? Maybe not, though it seems likely.

Changes to the ID law in 2006 required the state to provide free photo ID cards to everyone lacking a drivers' license, but this so far has not been done. But even if free ID cards are made available, many of those who need them either lack the necessary documents (such as birth certificates) needed to obtain the cards, do not have access to transportation to go get the cards, or must work during the business hours when cards would be made available. Erecting such onerous obstacles to voting in the absence of a voter fraud problem is not only unnecessary, but also wastes taxpayer money - money that could be better spent elsewhere. And then there's the whole issue of disenfranchisement, specifically of those whose voices are already on the margins.

Courts have blocked this law, not allowing it to be enforced since 2005, by deeming it unconstitutional, an undue burden on voters, and outside of the public's best interest. Then, last week, Georgia's Supreme Court overturned a lower court's declaration of the law as unconstitutional, thus opening the door for enforcement. The Supreme Court did not actually disagree with the lower court, but instead ruled that since the plaintiff in the case would have been a new voter in 2006 and thus exempted from the photo ID requirements, she did not have grounds to bring suit. Though the voter could have been affected by the law after her first time voting (for the next election cycle, or possibly a run-off election), the Georgia Supreme Court decided to side with the Republican governor and legislature, who overwhelmingly support the law.

It remains to be seen whether or not Georgia can now require voters to show photo IDs, as there is a federal case about the same law currently awaiting appeal. Similar ID laws in Indiana and Ohio are currently being upheld, and states around the country that have had their voter ID laws overturned are appealing their cases to higher courts. Meanwhile, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform found "no evidence of extensive fraud in U.S. elections or of multiple voting".

No cases of voter ID laws have reached the U.S. Supreme Court yet, though there certainly is the promise of that in the near future. The question at the heart of the issue is this: will our courts pander to those who wish to erode the Constitutional rights of our most vulnerable citizens, or will they protect the rights of everyone and uphold the Voting Rights Act? That question has just been answered in the state of Georgia.

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Posted at 8:10 AM, Jun 21, 2007 in Voting Rights
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