August 26, 2005

"Justice Dept. OKs Georgia's voter ID law"

"The Justice Department on Friday approved a controversial Georgia law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, and opponents immediately vowed to challenge the measure in federal court.

The decision, written by John Tanner, chief of the department's voting section, says that while Attorney General Alberto Gonzales doesn't object to the law, approval doesn't preclude lawsuits against it.

"It's not over yet. We will pursue litigation in federal court," said state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, chairman of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, which earlier had filed an objection to the law with the Justice Department."

You can read the AP story here.

Update: Here is a summary of the DOJ determination:

SUMMARY OF SECTION 5 PRE-CLEARANCE OF GEORGIA ID SUBMISSION

Issue: The Civil Rights Division's pre-clearance without objection (pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act) of Georgia's amendment to its state voter identification statute, which now requires that voters either: (i) show one of six specified forms of photo identification if voting in person, or (ii) vote by provisional ballot.

Section 5 review: The standard of review by the Attorney General under the Voting Rights Act is whether the change in voting will have a retrogressive effect on minority voters. With the exception of objections, the career Chief of the Voting Section is authorized by federal regulation to make final determinations under Section 5 on all submissions. 28 C.F.R. section 51.3.

The Georgia Bill: The State of Georgia's ID bill is actually an amendment to a voter ID law first passed by the State in 1997. The 2005 amendment reduces the number of acceptable ID's from 17 to 6. Acceptable forms of ID are now: (1) a Georgia drivers license; (2) a photo ID issued by local, state or U.S. government; (3) a U.S. passport; (4) an employee photo ID issued by local, state or U.S. government; (5) a U.S. military photo ID; or (6) a tribal photo ID.

No Retrogressive Effect: The Civil Rights Division found that the new ID requirement had no retrogressive purpose or effect, nor is there any evidence for that matter that voter ID requirements have a negative effect on the turnout of any voters (including minorities).

- In the November 2000 election, the first presidential election in which Georgia's (original ID requirement was in effect), the Census Bureau reported that turnout of eligible black voters went up from the 1996 election, from 45.6 % to 49.6 %.

- There are almost 4 1/2 million registered voters in Georgia out of a voting age population of 6 1/2 million, and there are over 6 1/2 million drivers licenses/photo ID’s issued to Georgia residents by the Georgia Department of Drivers Services (DDS), which are only two of the 6 acceptable forms of ID under the statute.

- More whites than blacks live in Georgia counties without a DDS office; the ID bill thus will actually have a greater impact on white voters than black voters.

- For the very small number of Georgians who do not have a photo ID or live in counties without a DDS office, the state is implementing a mobile van licensing program that will issue ID's all over the state, the Georgia Licensing on Wheels (GLOW) program. Groups and organizations organizing voter registration drives will be able to request participation by the GLOW program.

- Indigent voters will not be charged for obtaining a state photo ID.

- Voters who show up at polls without one of the 6 forms of acceptable photo ID will receive provisional ballots and will have 48 hours to provide ID to local election officials.

- In the November 2004 presidential election, when the new HAVA ID requirement was first effective, the Census reports that the turnout of black voters in Georgia went up again, from 49.6 % to 54.4 %.

- Beginning in 2004, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) began requiring that individuals who registered to vote by mail must provide ID documents: (i) upon registration; or (ii) at the polling place the first time they vote.

- Congress clearly recognized the importance of ID requirements in securing the integrity of elections and obviously did not believe that such requirements had any discriminatory effect on minority voters.

- In the November 2004 election -- the first time these HAVA voter ID requirements were applied nationwide -- turnout by citizens eligible to vote in the presidential election was over 60%, the highest turnout since the 1968 presidential election.

- HAVA's ID requirement also had no effect on voter registration. Indeed, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission estimates that there were 13 million new voters in 2004, an increase of 8% from the 2000 election.

- HAVA specifically provides that states can impose stricter ID requirements than those mandated in HAVA.

- Numerous states other than Georgia such as South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Virginia have identification requirements, none of which had a negative effect on the turnout of minority voters.

- South Carolina, another state with a large minority population subject to Section 5, has a stricter ID law than Georgia, only allowing two forms of identification.

Posted by Randy Riddle at August 26, 2005 07:17 PM