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NAACP Will Sue Over New Georgia Photo ID Law
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200508\NAT20050829a.html
(CNSNews.com) - The NAACP accuses the U.S. Justice Department of weakening one of the nation's most important voting laws.
On Friday, the Justice Department approved a Georgia law requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot.
Supporters say the new law will prevent fraud at the polls. But opponents say it will keep thousands of voters away -- especially poor and elderly people who don't have drivers' licenses and can't afford to pay for a state-issued ID card.
They say the new Georgia law essentially requires many black people to pay a fee before voting.
Bruce S. Gordon, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the Justice Department's approval of the Georgia photo-ID law "disappointing."
"If left unchallenged, many African-Americans and other minorities in Georgia will find it difficult to cast their ballots. I will call on a coalition of civil rights groups to join us in challenging the Georgia law," Gordon said in a statement issued Saturday.
Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP national board of directors, also promised that court challenges are coming -- the lawsuit, to be filed under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Under the new Georgia law, the list of acceptable photo IDs for voters is limited to the following: a Georgia driver's license, U.S. passport, U.S. or state agency employee ID, military ID, tribal ID or an ID card issued by a legally empowered branch of Georgia, any other state or the U.S. government.
The NAACP complains that in all of Georgia's 159 counties, there are only 56 places to obtain the required photo ID. There is no motor vehicle department office in the city of Atlanta, the group says.
Portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was intended to boost minority participation in the political process, are due to expire in 2007.
The NAACP and various civil rights groups are lobbying Congress to reauthorize the law, one section of which requires the Justice Department to block state laws that would deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race or color.
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200508\NAT20050829a.html
(CNSNews.com) - The NAACP accuses the U.S. Justice Department of weakening one of the nation's most important voting laws.
On Friday, the Justice Department approved a Georgia law requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot.
Supporters say the new law will prevent fraud at the polls. But opponents say it will keep thousands of voters away -- especially poor and elderly people who don't have drivers' licenses and can't afford to pay for a state-issued ID card.
They say the new Georgia law essentially requires many black people to pay a fee before voting.
Bruce S. Gordon, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the Justice Department's approval of the Georgia photo-ID law "disappointing."
"If left unchallenged, many African-Americans and other minorities in Georgia will find it difficult to cast their ballots. I will call on a coalition of civil rights groups to join us in challenging the Georgia law," Gordon said in a statement issued Saturday.
Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP national board of directors, also promised that court challenges are coming -- the lawsuit, to be filed under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Under the new Georgia law, the list of acceptable photo IDs for voters is limited to the following: a Georgia driver's license, U.S. passport, U.S. or state agency employee ID, military ID, tribal ID or an ID card issued by a legally empowered branch of Georgia, any other state or the U.S. government.
The NAACP complains that in all of Georgia's 159 counties, there are only 56 places to obtain the required photo ID. There is no motor vehicle department office in the city of Atlanta, the group says.
Portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was intended to boost minority participation in the political process, are due to expire in 2007.
The NAACP and various civil rights groups are lobbying Congress to reauthorize the law, one section of which requires the Justice Department to block state laws that would deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race or color.
When each person only votes once -- and all of those are non-felon, living citizens.