Supreme Court sides with Attorney General; ID needed to vote
Published: 10.20.2006
Supreme Court sides with Attorney General; ID needed to voteBy Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX -- Arizonans will need to bring identification to the polls next month if they want their votes to count.
In an unsigned opinion Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an order by a federal appeals court blocking the state from enforcing the voter ID provisions of Proposition 200 while it is being challenged in court. Instead, the justices sided with arguments by Attorney General Terry Goddard that the state's interest in protecting its elections from fraud outweigh the possibility that some people without the legally required identification might be disenfranchised.
In fact, the justices took a slap at their colleagues on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for issuing their original order in the first place. They said the appellate judges provided no reason that they issued the legal stay in the first place and overturned the original order of the trial judge who actually heard the evidence.
The justices stressed that Friday's order does not mean that they believe the provisions of Proposition 200 are legal. But they said their decision was necessary to "allow the election to proceed."
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