Obama Citizenship

Georgia?s Requirement for Voter ID Upheld by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

By Phil

Fortunately, the Judiciary seemed to have found some common sense in Georgia’s requirement for some form of photo ID when a registered voter is about to cast a ballot (for those who aren’t familiar with Georgia voting, we actually have 6 forms of photo identification from which the registered voter can choose — simply scroll down to the middle of the linked page for the listing).

While it doesn’t completely prevent voter fraud from occurring (if you vote early in Georgia, the poll workers simply ask whether or not you’ve previously requested a ballot by mail), it goes a long way towards keeping everyone honest.

Per GeorgiaLegislativeWatch:

The 11th Circuit United States Court of Appeals has upheld Georgia?s voter ID:

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals relied heavily on a U.S. Supreme Court decision last April upholding a similar law in Indiana.

?The insignificant burden imposed by the Georgia statute is outweighed by the interests in detecting and deterring voter fraud,? Judge Bill Pryor wrote for the court?s majority.

The ruling upholds a decision issued last year by U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy in Rome, who dismissed a lawsuit filed by two elderly voters and civil rights groups.

The Secretary of State?s office has already sent out a press release in praise of the decision:

?We conclude, based on the decision in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 128 S. Ct. 1610 (2008), which upheld a similar law in Indiana, that the burden imposed by the requirement of photo identification is outweighed by the interests of Georgia in safeguarding the right to vote,? the Court said in their decision.

Secretary Handel said, ?In the 2008 General Election and General Run-off alone, over 5 million ballots were cast in-person by voters with photo ID. I applaud this latest confirmation of Georgia?s common sense photo ID requirement.?

The next step would be the United States Supreme Court and it?s unlikely to revisit the photo ID issue, especially after Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote in dissent in Crawford, appeared to approve of Georgia?s voter ID law.

You can read the circuit court?s opinion here.

-Phil

Full post as published by The Right Side of Life on January 14, 2009 (boomark / email).