Reacting to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s ruling declaring the state’s voter-identification law unconstitutional, ACLU of Arkansas Legal Director Holly Dickson said her group is “thrilled.”
Well, why not. They’ve been at it all over the country, trying to take down voter ID laws and enrich the ground that can yield a bumper crop of vote fraud.
The unanimous decision on Oct. 15 upheld a lower court ruling and will affect early balloting, which began Monday, Oct. 20. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 4.
The Republican-controlled state legislature enacted the fraud-prevention law in 2013 over a veto by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. The justices ruled that the law requiring all voters to present government-issued photo identification, “imposes a requirement that falls outside” 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.
Providing proof that voters are, indeed, who they say they are, a requirement that the and more than 70 percent of the public strongly supports, is too high a hurdle, according to the ACLU.
Ms. Dickson called the law “an unconstitutional barrier that has already stolen legitimate voting rights.” When clerks ask to see an ID before selling beer, are they “stealing legitimate drinking rights?”
