http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/128385.php

Published: 05.09.2006

Lawsuit seeks to void Prop 200 voting provisions
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX -- A Hispanic rights law firm filed suit Tuesday asking a federal judge to void the voting provisions of Proposition 200.

The lawsuit by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund attacks provisions of the law which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and certain forms of identification to cast a ballot. Attorney Nina Perales said Latinos are less likely to have the kinds of ID required.

"As a result, significant numbers of Latinos attempting to register and turn out to vote are denied the right to vote,'' she said. And Perales said because Hispanics are a significant proportion of the people who are naturalized - people who need different documents - the law has a harsher effect on them, making it illegal.

And Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said the legislation and the practices of state officials in enforcing it amount to "attacking and profiling the Latino community and other communities of ethnic color."

But Perales, under questioning from reporters, insisted this isn't strictly a Hispanic issue. She said the law affects anyone who is poor and doesn't have a driver's license or other documents.

"By requiring people to have to purchase forms of identification, whether it's a birth certificate or a driver's license, whether it's to register to vote or also to appear and vote in person on election day is a modern day poll tax,'' she said, something constitutionally prohibited.

Joe Kanefield, the state elections director, countered there is a big difference between requiring someone to pay money to the government to exercise the right to vote and simply mandating that they provide proper documentation - even if it does cost them money to get those documents.

The lawsuit also challenges the decision by Secretary of State Jan Brewer to block registration to vote of those who use a federally approved form but do not also submit proof of citizenship. That form, unlike state law, does not require such proof.

This isn't the first time that issue has been raised.

Two months ago the U.S. Election Assistance Commission wrote to Brewer, telling her that federal law precludes her and county election officials from refusing to register people who submit this form.

But Kevin Tyne, the deputy secretary of state, insisted states are free to impose requirements above and beyond what is required by federal law. And that, he said, is precisely what voters did two years ago when they adopted Proposition 200.

"We are following that law as passed by the voters of this state," said Tyne. "We're fully prepared to defend Prop 200, the will of the voters."
The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of individuals who Perales said have been denied the right to register and may be turned away from the polls.

Other plaintiffs include community organizations like Chicanos Por La Causa and the Arizona Hispanic Community Forum.

MALDEF mounted a separate legal challenge to Proposition 200 shortly after the 2004 election, seeking to overturn another provision which denies certain public benefits to those not in this country illegally. But a federal appeals court tossed the case, saying there was no evidence that anyone legally entitled to those benefits was in danger of being prosecuted for breaking the law.