http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/128902

Lawsuit off base in challenging voter ID rules
Our view: Saying the Ariz. requirement is equivalent to a "poll tax" misses the intent of the law, its flexible application
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.15.2006
A nonprofit group has filed suit to void the voting provisions of Proposition 200. The group argues that having to prove one's citizenship when registering to vote and having to show ID when casting a ballot amounts to a modern-day poll tax.

We disagree. While the ID requirements may be inconvenient for some members of our community, we don't believe the law is meant to keep certain people, in this case Latinos, from voting. We believe the purpose of the law is simply to reduce the potential for fraud.
Moreover, calling the requirements a poll tax is likely meant to arouse people's sense of justice and raise support for the lawsuit.

Poll taxes were used in the United States from the middle of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, mostly to disenfranchise blacks and Indians. Such taxes were finally outlawed in 1964 with ratification of the 24th Amendment.

Proposition 200, which was approved by 56 percent of Arizona voters in 2004, requires people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and show proper ID at polling places.

In Pima County, the documents needed to register or cast ballots include, among others, a driver's license, an out-of-state license or ID that identifies U.S. citizenship, a birth certificate, a passport, U.S. naturalization documents or certificate number, or any one of a number of Indian identification numbers.

The key is that most of these documents aren't free. A birth certificate, for example, costs a minimum of $10 in Pima County.

"This has a great impact on Latinos because we're disproportionately more likely to be low-income," said attorney Nina Perales of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which filed last week's lawsuit.

"But this isn't just about Latinos. Anyone who's low-income is less likely to have these documents. So are older people who have already given up driving. So are people who live with their parents," Perales said.

"It's effectively a poll tax if you have to buy something in order to register to vote."

We agree that there are some people in our community who cannot afford some of these documents. But to equate the ID requirements to a poll tax is a stretch.

One key difference is that poll taxes were charged more than once. To register to vote today, people need only to show a necessary document once and they will be eligible to cast ballots for years — or at least until they change addresses.

Tucson City Clerk Kathy Detrick declined to comment on whether the ID requirements amount to a poll tax, citing the pending litigation.

In a Star story last Wednesday, Joe Kanefield, the state elections director, said there's a big difference between requiring people to pay money to the government for 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 seems to ignore the fact there are many options for people wanting to vote. It would be one thing to require everyone to produce a driver's license. People who don't drive or who cannot afford a car would likely not have a license.

But there's more than one way to get into the voting booth. Registered voters in Pima County who don't have a driver's license, for example, can also produce recent utility bills or bank statements, property-tax statements or other government-issued IDs.

A complete list of valid forms of ID for casting ballots can be found at www.pima.gov/elections. Click on "Important information about identification at the polls."

The people of Arizona have spoken. They want ID and citizenship requirements for voters. Just because one group calls that a poll tax does not make it so.