* 9/25 Morning Update: Word via e-mail from Adam Liptak that the Supreme Court will take up the case. He also directed me to Loyola Law Professor Rick Hansen’s election law blog, where he got the info.

* 9/25 Afternoon Update: The New York Times has a piece up with the news.

In this morning’s New York Times, columnist Adam Liptak notes that today, in private, the Supreme Court will consider whether or not they want to take on Indiana’s voter identification law, put into place in 2005. Liptak responds in the piece to federal appeals court judge Judge Richard A. Posner’s January opinion that having photo identification is part and parcel of modern life in America. Liptak writes:

But somewhere between 13 million and 22 million Americans of voting age, most of them poor, get by without driver’s licenses, passports and other kinds of government documents bearing their pictures, perhaps because they do not have the money to drive, much less to fly.

The piece’s title is “Fear but Few Facts in Debate on Voter I.D.’s” — and Liptak cites numerous sources which come at the debate from numerous angles. He reports that a Heritage Foundation study found no negatie impact on voter turnout in states where I.D. laws were in place. But he also quotes a law professor from George Washington University who said in February that “the number of legitimate voters who would fail to bring photo identification to the polls is several times higher than the number of fraudulent voters.”

Liptak seems to err on the side of less restrictions, not more. To see why, click below.

(more…)

Posted in Arizona, Election Reform, Georgia, Indiana, Voter ID requirements | Comments Off

Massachusetts driver’s license photos from Massachusetts DMV (via The Heritage Foundation)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this week that a judge who previously overturned a voter ID requirement has now upheld a revised version of the same law.

[U.S. District Court Judge Harold] Murphy noted that his previous injunction hinged in large part on the fact that many voters who lacked a photo ID had no real notice of the requirement or knew how to get one or vote absentee. But the judge said recent evidence showed the state “made exceptional efforts” to contact voters in the 23 counties planning to hold local elections this month.

Amongst those who filed suit to block the law included Common Cause/Georgia and the League of Women Voters of Georgia. Back in February, the New York Times reported that a study commissioned by the federal government highlighted a link between voter ID laws and lower turnout. At the time, the paper noted where ID requirements were in place.

Only two states, Indiana and Florida, now require all voters to show photo ID, and voters without it are allowed to cast only provisional ballots. Indiana officials have said voter turnout increased by 2 percent last November, compared with the 2002 midterm election, despite the enactment of a photo ID law in 2005.

Three states — Hawaii, Louisiana and South Dakota — require voters without photo ID to sign affidavits to cast regular ballots.

We’ll stay on top of this.

Posted in Election Reform, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, South Dakota, Voter ID requirements | Comments Off