Issues Archives - Page 177 of 222 - Voting Integrity Institute

Voter ID Age Dawns in North Carolina

Raleigh -- After years of debate and lawsuits, showing photo identification at the polls is now a fact of life for North Carolina voters. Early voting for the March 15 primary started Thursday across the state, and every voter is being asked for a photo ID, even if they've voted at the same precinct for years and the poll workers know them. "The check-in official is going to be responsible for looking for reasonable resemblance, and the only thing they're looking at is the photo on the ID - does the photo reasonably resemble the person?" said Kim Strach, director of the State Board of Elections.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:41+00:00March 12th, 2016|Early Voting, News, Voter ID|

No Voters Denied Due to Photo ID Law, former Virginia Officials Testify

Several former state and local election officials testified in federal court that they were not aware of any eligible voter who has been denied the right to cast a ballot because of Virginia's photo voter ID requirement enacted in 2013. "None," said Cameron Quinn, a former state elections official who from 2011 until last year was the general registrar for Fairfax County, testifying on March 1 in the sixth day of a trial before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party of Virginia and two voters challenging the state law. Fairfax is the state's largest jurisdiction and has 700,000 registered voters. Justin Riemer, a former member of the Virginia State Board of Elections and Donald Palmer, the former secretary of the board, also testified that they were not aware of anyone unable to vote because of the photo requirement.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:35:34+00:00March 12th, 2016|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

ACRU’s Complaint against Starr County, Texas

ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 7, 2016) —- The (ACRU) is suing [...]

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:01+00:00March 7th, 2016|ACRU Complaints, In the Courts, Voter ID|

Faulty Data Fuel Challenges to Voter ID Laws

By Don Palmer The use of photo identification to confirm the identity of voters serves an essential election security function in America's polling places and boosts citizens' confidence in the voting process. In perhaps their most prevalent means of attack, opponents of laws requiring photo ID greatly exaggerate the number of voters without a valid ID. In legislative, litigation, and public relations battles, opponents use wildly inflated numbers in an attempt both to portray these laws as burdensome and to gain partisan electoral advantage. They cite a highly inflated number of voters who do not possess a driver's license as the universal number of those who are not able to vote, even though, under all state photo ID laws, various other forms of ID, such as federal and state government IDs, U.S. passports, tribal IDs, or even employer-issued or university student IDs, are also acceptable.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:41+00:00March 7th, 2016|ACRU Commentary, Voter ID|

West Virginia Voter ID Bill Goes to Senate

The West Virginia Senate is taking up a bill that the House of Delegates passed that would require voters to present identification at the polls before voting. Lead sponsor Delegate Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, said 33 states have some form of voter ID law on the books that vary in what form of identification voters are required to produce. West Virginia falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, with what Lane called a "non-strict photo ID" bill that would accept several different forms of identification as proof of identity. Under the bill, which passed the House on Feb. 17, a voter would be able to produce a state drivers license, drivers license from another state, non-driver's state ID card, passport, photo student ID card or a photo ID from an employer as proof of identity. The bill would also provide for voters to present a non-photo Social Security card, Medicare or Medicaid card. Lane said virtually any eligible voter in the state should be able to come up with one of the forms of identification included in the bill. But if they can't, they would still be able to vote a provisional ballot under the proposed legislation. Lane also said a voter would be able to bring someone who has known him or her for at least six months to the polls to vouch that the voter is who he or she purports to be. House Democrats, however, spoke out against the bill, which they claimed is an attempt to suppress minority voters.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:41+00:00March 1st, 2016|News, Voter ID|

Virginia Voter Photo ID Law Challenged in Court

A Virginia law requiring voters to show photo identification went on trial in federal court on Feb. 22, challenged by Democratic Party activists who allege it throws up barriers to voting by minorities and the poor. Lawyers defending the 2013 Virginia law said it prevented voter fraud. The trial in U.S. District Court is one of several voting rights legal battles as Democrats and Republicans square off before November's presidential and congressional elections. The Democratic Party of Virginia and two party activists are suing the Virginia State Board of Elections and want Judge Henry Hudson to strike down the law. Attorney Bruce Spiva, representing those challenging the measure, said the photo ID law was an effort to hamper the Democratic Party in the state. It creates "irrational hoops that people have to jump through" and has a "disproportional impact on people of color," Spiva said. Mark Hearne, an independent counsel for the state attorney general, dismissed the allegations. "It is impossible to show a suppressive effect on minorities from the photo ID law," Hearne said. He added the law was an effort to protect against voter fraud.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:35:34+00:00March 1st, 2016|In the Courts, News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|

A Big Win for Election Integrity

By Hans A. von Spakovsky Electoral integrity has scored big -- District of Columbia federal district court Judge Richard Leon just issued an order denying the request by the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and the U.S. Justice Department for a temporary restraining order (TRO). Thus, there will be no TRO preventing the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from instructing residents of Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas that they must comply with state laws requiring proof-of-citizenship when they register to vote. Judge Leon said in a four-page order that because "the registration deadlines for the Alabama and Georgia primaries and for the Kansas Republican Caucus had already passed at the time this TRO motion was filed . . . and that the effects of the [EAC's] actions on the ongoing registration process for the Kansas Democratic Caucus . . . are uncertain at best, plaintiffs have not demonstrated they will suffer irreparable harm" before the scheduled March 9 hearing on the request for a Preliminary Injunction. Judge Leon was also "not yet convinced that plaintiffs have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits and looks forward to the benefit of full, adversarial briefing on the complex and important issues this case presents." This is a tremendous victory, particularly given the questionable conduct of the Justice Department, which came into court on Monday refusing to defend the actions of the EAC and saying it would consent not only to a TRO, but to a preliminary injunction. Judge Leon castigated DOJ during the hearing and added a footnote to his four-page order about the behavior of Justice after he said he expects a "full, adversarial briefing."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:02+00:00February 24th, 2016|ACRU Commentary, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|

Zavala County Mayor Resigns After Arrest, Recall Petition Certified

CRYSTAL CITY -- A South Texas mayor under a federal corruption indictment resigned from office on Friday after a recall petition was certified and he was arrested over a disturbance that disrupted a city council meeting. In a letter of resignation submitted to the city clerk, Ricardo Lopez said his departure would take effect Friday afternoon. "I appreciate the opportunities I have been given to be mayor of Crystal City. I wish all the citizens of Crystal City success in the future," his letter stated. Lopez and two city council members are named in a federal public corruption indictment returned earlier this month. Another council member has been charged with human trafficking. Crystal City is the county seat of Zavala County, which in January 2015 entered into a federal court consent decree with the to clean up its voter rolls. The county had more than 100 percent of its age-eligible residents registered to vote. Lopez was led from a city council meeting in handcuffs late Tuesday night after an apparent scuffle ended the gathering in pandemonium. The meeting, which was to schedule a recall election for him and two council members, ended prematurely after the mayor's arrest cost the panel a quorum. He was released from the Zavala County Jail the next day after posting a $12,000 bond. However, the rest of the Tuesday council meeting was postponed until Wednesday, then was canceled when Lopez didn't attend and the group again lacked a quorum. Upon his release from jail, Lopez told reporters that he would attend no more council meetings.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:02+00:00February 21st, 2016|News, Voter ID|

Obama Administration Fighting Efforts to Keep Non-Citizens from Voting

By Hans von Spakovsky Several well-funded organizations -- including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP -- are fighting efforts to prevent non-citizens from voting illegally in the upcoming presidential election. And the United States Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, is helping them. On February 12, these groups filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court seeking to reverse a recent decision by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The Commission's decision allows Kansas and other states, including Arizona and Georgia, to enforce state laws ensuring that only citizens register to vote when they use a federally designed registration form. An initial hearing in the case is set for Monday afternoon, February 22. Under federal law, the EAC is responsible for designing the federal voter-registration form required by the National Voter Registration Act, or Motor Voter, as it is commonly called. While states must register voters who use the federal form, states can ask the EAC to include instructions with the federal form about additional state registration requirements. Some states are now requiring satisfactory proof of citizenship to ensure that only citizens register to vote.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:02+00:00February 21st, 2016|ACRU Commentary, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|

Judge Won’t Suspend Alabama Voter Photo ID Law

MONTGOMERY (AP) A federal judge will not suspend Alabama's photo voter identification requirement in the upcoming elections. U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler Wednesday denied Wednesday a preliminary injunction sought by groups that challenged the law requiring voters to present photo identification. The groups had asked the judge to expand the state's alternative identification process so people without photo identification can vote if they present certain documents or identification. Coogler said he would not use a backdoor method to effectively do away with the photo identification requirement that took effect in 2014. Coogler also said plaintiffs offered no convincing reason why obtaining a valid photo ID is an undue burden.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:35:34+00:00February 19th, 2016|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

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