In a ruling that could affect a key U.S. Senate race, the Arkansas Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the state’s voter-identification law unconstitutional.
The unanimous decision, which upheld a lower court, came just days before early balloting begins Monday for the Nov. 4 election.
The justices ruled that Act 595, which required voters to show government-issued photo identification, “imposes a requirement that falls outside” the four qualifications outlined in the state constitution: A voter must be a U.S. citizen, an Arkansas resident, 18 years old and registered to vote.
The constitutional qualifications “simply do not include any proof-of-identity requirement,” the majority wrote in its 20-page opinion.
The law, which took effect Jan. 1, was approved in April 2013 after the Republican-dominated Legislature overrode the veto of Gov. Mike Beebee, a Democrat.
