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Voter IDs on Supreme Court Agenda

Sep 25 02:01 PM US/Eastern
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether voter identification laws unfairly deter the poor and minorities from voting, stepping into a contentious partisan issue in advance of the 2008 elections.
The justices will hear arguments early next year in a challenge to an Indiana law that requires voters to present photo ID before casting their ballots. The state has defended the law as a way to combat voter fraud.

The state Democratic party and civil rights groups complained that the law unfairly targets poor and minority voters, without any evidence that in-person voter fraud exists in Indiana. The party argued that those voters tend to be Democrats.

Courts have upheld voter ID laws in Arizona and Michigan, but struck down Missouri's. Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to Georgia's voter identification law, saying the statute does not impose a significant burden on the right to vote.

Election law experts had urged the court to take the Indiana case to instruct courts on how to weigh claims of voter fraud versus those of disenfranchisement. "The court better resolve this question before ballots start getting counted next fall," said Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan.

The court is expected to issue a decision by late June, in time for the November general election.

The Indiana law enacted in 2005 was upheld by a federal judge and by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Before the law's passage, an Indiana voter had only to sign a poll book at the polling place, where a photo copy of the voter's signature was kept on file for comparison.

"The purpose of the Indiana law is to reduce voting fraud, and voting fraud impairs the right of legitimate voters to vote by diluting their votes," Judge Richard Posner said in his majority opinion.

But in a dissent, Judge Terence Evans said, "Let's not beat around the bush. The Indiana voter photo ID law is a not-too-thinly veiled attempt to discourage election-day turnout by folks believed to skew Democratic."

Bill Groth, an attorney who has represented the Indiana Democratic Party in the lawsuit, said he was thrilled that the nation's highest court will take up the case. He said the appeals court made light of the right to vote in its decision, but the Supreme Court has guarded that right more seriously.

"The court has over and over stressed that the right to vote should be protected, and any state law that burdens that right should be carefully and meticulously reviewed," Groth said.

The voter ID challenge was among 17 new cases accepted by the court in advance of the start of its new term on Monday.

The cases are Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 07-21, and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, 07-25.

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But in a dissent, Judge Terence Evans said, "Let's not beat around the bush. The Indiana voter photo ID law is a not-too-thinly veiled attempt to discourage election-day turnout by folks believed to skew Democratic."

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Let's not beat around the bush Judge Evans, a reasonable photo ID law should be in place to make sure that you are an American, eligible to vote, and only vote once..... if one party or the other is hurt by a law that accomplishes that, then TOO BAD, TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.

http://breitbart.com/print.php?id=D8RSKQV00&show_article=1&catnum=1

I neglected to footnote the site from which I borrowed the article.

We want participation by as many informed citizens as possible on election day. We appreciate foreign born non citizens opinions on our election choices but don't want their votes if they have not taken the path to citizenship.
Will what seems to be common sense in expecting a voter to have his voter registration card and state issued photo ID. be determined to be excessive and a burden upon the less fortunate???? I believe that is the point here.

All states offer Driver's licenses and non driver state issued photo IDs. In some states the state agency even will come to you if you cannot get to them.

But why should I have to prove who I am to vote. How about to prove that you appreciate and protect your right to one man one vote rather than voter fraud opportunity?

If the fee for a photo ID is too much...pressure the state to lower or eliminate the cost but don't eliminate the process!

In today's world we must,fortuntely or unfortunately, prove by ID who we are when we shop at discount warehouses,libraries,doctor offices,video rental chains, or use banks, state welfare offices,law enforcement agencies and many other public operations...sometimes even at sporting events.

To become a nail tech and hair stylist, a day worker, an everyday employee all of these require a photo ID.

Heck to become a dog groomer you must have a photo ID to be certified....one more step has your dog being registered with a county tag listing the name and owner of the dog.

So why is the issue of insisting upon a photo ID a problem??? Undue burden or common sense?

There is not much voter fraud in Ohio and Indiana. In most precints, a large number of voters are known to the precint judges, the ones who are not known, can be verified by signature comparison. The primary problem with voter fraud comes in fraudulent registrations. As an elections judge, I've had to turn away people I know, who are on the registration roles, or have them vote provisionally, because they walked to the polls and did not bring their DL with them. If they voted provisionally, they could vote on a paper ballot, then take their ID to the board of elections for their votes to count.

People who register to vote who are not citizens, or are illegals, and present fraudulent documentation to for registration. ID verification will not help this problem. Until we stop issuing documentation, social security numbers, and drivers licenses to people who are not legal citizens, this type of vote fraud will continue.

You need a photo ID to cash a check ..... you should be required to have one to vote with too.

What? They have a lot of illegals voting now that don't have photo ids? Give me a break... who doesn't have a photo id now a days?

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We want participation by as many informed citizens as possible on election day.

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If someone doesn't know how to get a photo ID, I don't think "informed" can be used in any way to describe them. No wonder the dems are in a tizzy over this.

I think the court will uphold the standing law and rule against the plaintiff.