Thread: Appellate court blocks enforcement of Arizona voter ID law

Published: 10.05.2006

Appellate court blocks enforcement of Arizona voter ID law
By PAUL DAVENPORT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX - A federal appellate court on Thursday blocked enforcement of a 2004 state law requiring Arizona voters to present identification when casting ballots and to submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals without comment granted a motion by critics of the law for an injunction that bars enforcement of the law's voter identification requirements during the Nov. 7 general election.

It also bars enforcement of a requirement that people produce specified proof of citizenship to register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the general election is midnight Monday.

Secretary of State Jan Brewer, who has defended the law as a protection against voter fraud, said she's asked state Attorney General Terry Goddard to seek an immediate reversal.

"I'm very concerned about the confusion that this potentially will create in the upcoming election, with the retraining of all the poll workers and the re-education of the public so close to Nov. 7."

The 9th Circuit order was issued by two of the San Francisco-based court's judges. It said the injunction would remain in effect pending the court's resolution of the plaintiffs' appeals, a process that a lawyer for the challengers said would take months.

"This order would certainly run past the Nov. 7 general election," said the attorney, David Rosenbaum.

The 2004 law, which appeared on that year's ballot as Proposition 200, requires that voters at polling places produce government-issued picture ID or two pieces of other non-photo identification specified by the law.

Randy Pullen, the former chairman of Yes on Proposition 200 and currently the Republican Party's national committeeman for Arizona, blamed the decision on "activist" judges in the 9th Circuit.

"It shows you why it's so important to have President Bush appointing judges that aren't going to decide they know more about what the people want than the people do," Pullen said.

Ever since it passed in 2004, Arizona's voter ID law has been challenged in federal court by numerous groups including the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the League of Women Voters, the Navajo Nation, the Arizona Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Advocacy Network and the Mexican-American Legal and Educational Fund.

The challengers contend the voting provisions would disenfranchise numerous voters, particularly minorities and the elderly, and that requiring voters to acquire and produce identification would be burdensome in time, money and effort. They also contend it hinders voter registration drives.

A U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix on Sept. 11 refused to prohibit election officials from enforcing the registration and polling place identification requirements, and its provisions were enforced one day later during the state's Sept. 12 primary election.

Other parts of the 2004 law dealt with ineligibility of illegal immigrants to receive some government services and benefits.

Brewer said the people of Arizona voted overwhelmingly to require identification at the polls. She said the first statewide use of the requirement in the September primary "went off without a hitch" and the decision couldn't have come at a worse time.

"One million of them voted for it and will be very concerned and alarmed that all of a sudden it has been changed," Brewer said. "So we have a huge job in front of us .. to work very diligently to see this is overturned as soon as possible and implemented as it was intended by the voters of Arizona.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/149785

Court blocks Arizona voter ID law enforcement


PHOENIX, Oct. 5 — A federal appeals court Thursday blocked an Arizona state law requiring voters to present identification at polling stations and proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an emergency motion by opponents of the law for an injunction to prevent the law's voter identification requirements from taking effect for the Nov. 7 elections.
The ruling by the San Francisco-based court also denied enforcement of a measure requiring voters to produce proof of citizenship to register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the election is next Monday.
The law became effective two years ago under Proposition 200, a measure passed by voters to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. It required people to produce proof of citizenship, such as a passport, to register to vote, and picture ID, such as a driver's license, or two pieces of nonphoto ID, in order to cast a ballot.
Last month, in a move also aimed at illegal immigrants, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to require Americans to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in federal elections.
Opponents of the Arizona law said it discriminated against minorities and the poor, who might not have funds to obtain the necessary proof of identification.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office said it would seek an immediate review of the ruling and would take it to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary in coming days.
Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer said the ruling could lead to ''extreme confusion'' on polling day.
''This is very alarming to have the Court of Appeals in San Francisco stay these voting measures as passed by the people of Arizona,'' Brewer said in a statement.
''The fact is we very successfully implemented identification at the polls during September's primary election without a hitch,'' added Brewer.
(Additional reporting by David Schwartz)
http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/reu ... 0520061955

For those of you who don't realise what just happened here, this was the destruction of just about the only part of our PROP 200 that survived since it was voted it by the people of Arizona in 2004. Maldef and others have taken it to court over and over again only to be told it was good law. The shopped and shopped until they finally found some activist judges that went along with them. This is a travesty of justice!

We had a primary election on September 12th using this voter ID law and there were no problems or issues. Those who continue to fight it are creating their own problems just to challenge the sanctity of the law.

Just more evidence that activist judges are tearing our country apart. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been a serious problem for a while now.

The 9th Circuit should be disbanded as is the right of the US Congress!!!

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http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=43249

"It shows you why it's so important to have President Bush appointing judges that aren't going to decide they know more about what the people want than the people do," Pullen said.

No, not President Bush. That guy doesn't respect the law either. What do you call his signing statements. He sure doesn't respect what they majority wants concerning illegal immigration.

Dixie

UGH!!



Disband the 9th Circuit?

That's a GRRREAT IDEA...or we could just relocate it to....Escondido!

It make me sick to see judges terminate any law they wish, when they wish. The law was passed and in place for a reason. If the law needs to be reviewed, it should remain in effect until a decision has been made that it is unconstitutional. These judges are obviously liberals without conviction.

These judges should be deported.