Civil rights takes a hit: Court ok photo ID for voting

Court OKs photo ID for voting In 5-2 vote, justices rule Mich. law doesn't violate rights; NAACP vows to appeal. Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau LANSING -- Michigan voters will be asked to present photo identification at the polling place, after a divided Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that such a requirement is constitutional. At issue was a decade-old state law requiring voters to show photo identification before voting. The 1996 law never went into effect because then-Attorney General Frank Kelley, a Democrat, ruled it violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote. The Legislature renewed the law in 2005, subject to an advisory court opinion. Calling Michigan "the Mississippi of the north," the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, said Wednesday evening that his organization plans to appeal the state decision to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. "There is no demonstrable evidence nor any documentation of voter fraud that dictates today's ruling," Anthony said. "They have indicated a flimsy rationale for this law. This ruling does not address the real effects of voting integrity. The Voting Rights Act is still the law of the land." The debate over photo ID has been highly partisan: Democrats say it will suppress the vote of the poor, elderly and minorities who may not already have driver's licenses or other identification with photos. Republicans say it will discourage election fraud. "This ensures the integrity of the election process by making sure that each registered voter is given one vote," said state GOP chairman Saul Anuzis. "Michigan residents can now cast their ballot knowing that it will not be canceled out by a fraudulent vote. "Photo IDs are required to cash a check, board an airplane, and rent videos; it only makes sense that our most valued civil right be protected in the same manner." Ruling along party lines The ruling came on a 5-2 vote with Republican justices in favor and Democrats opposed. Writing for the majority, Justice Robert Young, a Republican, said the photo identification requirement is "a reasonable, nondiscriminatory restriction designed to preserve the purity of elections and to prevent abuses of the electoral franchise ..." In a strongly worded dissent, Democratic Justice Michael Cavanagh said: "Today's decision ... endorses misguided legislation that significantly impairs the fundamental right of thousands of our citizens to vote. The (requirement) will have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic populations, as well as poor voters, elderly voters and disabled voters." The Secretary of State estimates that 370,000 of Michigan's 7.2 million registered voters do not have photo IDs. Citizens who don't have driver's licenses can get state-issued identification cards, with photos, for $10 -- free to those 65 or older, the blind and those who have lost their licenses or been denied because of physical or mental disability. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer called the ruling "simply wrong." "These photo identification laws are nothing more than a poll tax and are part of an ongoing strategy by Michigan Republicans to disenfranchise minority and older voters," Brewer said in a written statement. "There is no problem with voter fraud or voter misrepresentation in Michigan which could justify this disenfranchisement of voters. We will be reviewing the decision and consulting with our allies to determine how to best protect the rights of these voters." Questions raised A Detroit News investigation in 2005 raised serious questions about the integrity of Detroit voting: ballots cast by people registered to vote at abandoned and long-demolished buildings, a master voter list with 380,000 incorrect names, and people who were dead or no longer living in the city. Many of those problems have been resolved since Janice Winfrey was elected city clerk in late 2005. State Rep. Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, who requested the opinion from the court, applauded its decision. "If grocery stores can require a photo ID when accepting a check, and sandwich shops can require a photo ID when a customer uses a debit card to buy their lunch. Our state elections officials must be able to ask for a photo ID when protecting the integrity of Michigan elections," DeRoche said. Ken Silfven, a spokesman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, said it's unclear whether the photo ID provision will take effect for this year's elections. And he said his office will have to determine which photo IDs will be acceptable. "But it's important to note that you can still vote without a photo ID if you fill out an affidavit swearing to your identity," he said. "The sacred right to vote won't be hampered in the least." The Associated Press reports that several states have faced legal battles over laws requiring voters to show photo IDs. Judges have upheld voter ID laws in Arizona and Indiana but struck down Missouri's. Last month, the Georgia Supreme Court threw out a challenge to that state's voter ID law but sidestepped a decision on whether the requirement was constitutional. Sidebar comment: I can see it now bus loads of punk ass college Republicans and Republican lawyers filling voting places in Detroit harassing voters about their ID in 2008.