Thread: Judge refuses to block law requiring ID to vote in Arizona

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/146165.php

Judge refuses to block law requiring ID to vote
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.11.2006
PHOENIX - A federal judge refused Monday to block the state from requiring people to show identification before casting a ballot.

In a two-page order, Judge Roslyn Silver said those challenging the law have not shown they eventually will succeed in having it declared unconstitutional. And Silver said "the public interest would not be advanced by granting the injunction.''

That clears the way for local officials to demand ID when people show up at the polls today. And it leaves in place existing requirements that people prove U.S. citizenship to register.

The ruling does not end the case: Challengers still will get a chance later this year to convince Silver that the identification provisions of Proposition 200 are illegal.

But the wording of Silver's order suggests that the judge will need something new - something she has not heard yet - to be convinced.

Proposition 200, approved by voters in 2004, requires people to prove they are U.S. citizens before they can register. And they must present certain acceptable forms of identification before they can cast a ballot.

Attorneys from the Mexican American Legal Defense argued this amounts to discrimination because Latinos are less likely to have the kinds of ID required. The result, she said, would deny Latinos the right to vote, running afoul of federal voting rights laws.

A separate lawsuit filed by various plaintiffs charged a different kind of discrimination.

For example, it said people who are poor don't have government-issued documents like a license and are less likely to have two recent utility bills or bank statements in their names. Similarly, those living in nursing homes also are unlikely to be driving and also don't have vehicle registration documents or utility bills.

Silver isn't buying either argument - at least not yet.

But the judge did give attorneys some reason to believe that she might yet be persuaded: She directed all sides to submit briefs later this month on the question of whether identification requirements to register to vote constitute an illegal "poll tax.'' That falls into line with the arguments that forcing people to buy certain kinds of identification, ranging from birth certificates to driver licenses, becomes an improper financial barrier to voting.

"For us, it's a hopeful sign,'' said Nina Perales, an attorney with MALDEF.

Perales noted there are similar challenges pending in Georgia and Ohio. But she said those states only require photo ID to vote; Arizona is the only state which also mandates proof of citizenship just to register.

This is actually the second defeat for challengers of the law.

Two months ago Silver refused to order counties to honor a national mail-in voter registration form - a form that does not require proof of citizenship. The judge said states are free to impose requirements beyond what is mandated by federal law.

Thank goodness. Should be a no-brainer. We should all have to show our ID just as we do for various things in society to prove we are who we are and especially for voting.