Federal Judge bans voter ID in Georgia

Concern over the possibility of voter fraud, Georgia legislators recently passed a law that would have required voters to supply a voter ID card before casting a ballot in the state. They had hoped to employ the measure in this week's primary elections.

However, Georgia's Supreme Court denied the state's emergency request to overrule a county court order that blocked enforcement of the law. And then, to add insult to injury, an appeal to Federal Court resulted in U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy upholding the ban in all 2006 elections.

The reason he gave? He agreed with several civil rights groups that the law would prohibit those who did not have an ID, such as the poor or the elderly, from voting.

Never mind that the State would provide a valid ID free of charge to you, if you wanted one.

Never mind that the State would actually even deliver the free ID to your doorstep, no charge to you.

Political correctness reared it's ugly head and won again.

It's not over yet - the law may actually have a chance of becoming part of the state constitution.

But not in time for the 2006 elections.

No voter ID

Well how hard would it be for the Republicans to rig the next election if you had to prove your name was Bugs Bunny or that you, a 25 year old male, were 87 year old Margaret Smith who died in 1982?

That's why it was shot down, under the guise of Political Correctness.

Then again, it sure makes it easier for 500,000 illegal immigrants to all be named Donny Democrat, if they don't have to prove it.

If cheating was limited to one specific party, the majority of us would have an outright stroke.

The bigger the system, the bigger the politician...ahem theif.



Personally, the less forms of identification I have to show, the happier I am. I'm identified by my social security number more often that I should ever have to....mught as well get it in bar code form tattooed on the back of my neck. Just scan me in every time I go anywhere. Wait....that was Hitler's idea with the Jews.

As it is, we show State IDs or driver's liscenses to go vote.

Absolutely agree that neither party has a monopoly on cheating. That's why it's important to make it difficult for either of them to cheat.

As for the voter ID card, I'm not sure if it would be the only acceptable form of ID. But it's primary purpose would be to verify a voter's ID.

[edit on 18-7-2006 by jsobecky]

The court ruling was likely just the product of bad timing, and I think the judge overreacted. He should have ordered the state to hold off for this year and prove that it had supplied the IDs to all registered voters before implementing the plan, but left the general idea alone.

The judge couldn't afford to be at the heart of a controversy in which disenfranchisement of minorities was alleged. Nobody wants to be the next Mark Fuhrman or Kathrine Harris.

The law makers need to revist the issue with the court's concerns in mind, craft a better law, and try it again. If it fails again, they can give the court the finger and go the constitutional route.

But don't bother telling me that the Republicans are the only ones cheating, especially in Georgia of all places, and especially when Judge Murphy is a former Democrat member of the Georgia legislature who was nominated to his seat by President Carter and is striking down a law passed by a Republican House, Republican Senate, and signed by a Republican Governor. You'll have a tough time telling me that Judge Murphy killed the law so that Republicans would have an easier time cheating under those conditions.

He's doing it for any combination of three possible reasons:
1. Playing it safe with regard to voting rights.
2. Acting against a possible Republican attempt to cheat.
3. Protecting a possible Democrat attempt to cheat.

Sorry Johnny Ohm but you're 2 years behind the times. Georgia no longer has a Democrat government; there is no way that the striking down of this law is in the interest of Republican foul play. You could always claim that the Republicans have been foiled in an attempt to cheat, but first you've got to pull your foot out of your mouth and hope nobody saw that. (don't worry, it won't hurt your rep with the partisans)