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Federal judge grants voter ID injunction
Order suspends law requiring photo identification at polls

By BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/18/05
A federal judge in Rome today issued an order suspending a new state law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls for the upcoming November municipal elections throughout Georgia.

U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy granted the injunction to lawyers for Common Cause of Georgia, the ACLU, the NAACP and other groups who challenged the law that requires Georgians to purchase a state-issued photo identification before voting.

The plaintiffs, Murphy found, have shown there is a substantial likelihood they will ultimately prevail in showing the photo ID requirement "unduly burdens the right to vote" and "constitutes a poll tax."

Murphy, in a 123-page order, said he had great respect for the Georgia Legislature, which passed the law earlier this year. "The court, however, simply has more respect for the Constitution," Murphy added.