AP: Judge Throws Out Ga. Voter ID Law

[Eugene]

Judge Throws Out Ga. Voter ID Law

By ERRIN HAINES

ATLANTA Sep 19, 2006 (AP)— A judge Tuesday struck down as unconsitutional
a new Georgia law requiring voters to show photo ID.

State Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. said that the law deprives
otherwise qualified voters of the right to cast a ballot and that a photo ID
as a condition of voting is not required under the Georgia Constitution.

The case is expected to go to the Georgia Supreme Court before the Nov. 7
general election.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2464152

This state court ruling comes in addition to last week's federal injunction.
Photo ID law gets blocked a 3rd time - Atlanta Journal Constitution

[mom cat]

1. Great. A poll tax by any other name is still a poll tax.

:toast:

[Pirate Smile]

2. A Missouri Congressman couldn't even vote under MO's voter ID law.

One lawmaker’s experience

U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, carries a government-issued photo identification card that he uses to vote in the House.

With that card, Skelton helps make laws that affect Missourians.

But he can’t use it to get a "nondriver license" so he can vote in Missouri this November.

Skelton doesn’t drive, so he doesn’t have a driver’s license. To obtain a non-driver ID, he went to the license bureau in Lexington, Mo. There, he says, “a very nice lady” was prepared to take his congressional card as proof of his identity: “She told me, ‘I know who you are.’ ”

But officials at the Missouri Department of Revenue nixed Skelton’s application.

Under the state’s new photo ID law, Skelton was told, he needs a passport or a birth certificate. “I have no idea where my birth certificate is,” he says.

Skelton says he will either apply for a copy of his birth certificate or bring his passport back to Missouri from Washington. He can use the passport to vote.

What does he think of the new law?

“This is going to disenfranchise some nice people, particularly senior citizens who walk in without a photo ID or driver’s license,” he says.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/15309191.htm

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. The Bushies haven't corrupted enough of the judicial branch to sanction

their illegal regime...yet.

Ultimately, the defense of what's left of the US democracy comes down to the court of last resort (and enforcement of its decisions by the executive branch): the SCOTUS. ONE MORE Supreme Court judge will give them 5 of 9 and everything would change. One more reason why the 2006 congressional elections are so very, very important.

Let's hear it for the rule of law in Georgia. :thumbsup:

[Peace Patriot]

4. There are many things we can do to disempower Bushite judges.

But first we have to restore our right to vote--by getting rid of Bushite corporate control of our election results, with their TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls, in the new electronic voting systems, fast-tracked during the 2002-2004 period (engineered by the biggest crooks in the Anthrax Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney, and abetted by corporatist 'Democrats' like Christopher Dodd).

Once we restore majority rule, here are some of the remedies...

1. Declare the 2004 election invalid, due to lack of transparency and verifiability, and overwhelming evidence of a wrong outcome. Rescind all Bush appointments.

2. "Pack" the Supreme Court, as FDR tried to do. Adding justices to the Supreme Court, to balance the court against the fascists, is quite within the Constitution. The Constitution does not specify the number of justices. 9 is an arbitrary number. And no administration in our history has done more damage to this country than this one. Conditions are extreme, and the political will may be there. (FDR failed in his effort; ran into political opposition; however his threat of adding justices caused one justice to change his mind about New Deal programs; thus, Social Security was saved!)

3. Appoint a Special Prosecutor just for them--to follow them on their every hunting party. Get the goods on them. Impeach them.

4. Curtail their terms, or make them electable. (--requires C amendment).

5. Frame key concepts as amendments to the Constitution. (The Supreme Court cannot declare an amendment "unconstitutional"; the worst they can do is interpret it badly, or fail to enforce it, in which case they might be impeachable.) For instance,

a) my favorite proposed 28th amendment: A ban on all private money in political campaigns; provide, say, 1% of the federal budget to candidate access to voters; reclaim some of our public airwaves for political debate. This amendment would put clean campaigns on an equal footing with the 1st amendment, as the law of the land. Fascists have used the 1st amendment to declare campaign contribution limits unconstitutional, as a limit on "free speech" (free speech = money). This amendment would entirely cleanse our filthy political system in one fell swoop. This--and, of course, paper ballots hand-counted at the precinct level--would result in strong populist legislators, and even a president, who would fight this fascist Supreme Court--and other federal judges--tooth and nail, in our interest. And it's so simple and clear that it would be hard for a fascist Supreme Court to "misinterpret" it.

b) Another for instance: An amendment to remove corporate "personhood" rights (by which corporations are accumulating vast wealth, property and power--and they never die!), and/or to place limits on the size, monopolistic power, and length of existence, of corporations. If you make it an amendment, the Supreme Court cannot undo. An amendment requires more votes in Congress (2/3, I believe), but, then, with transparent elections, we might just get such a majority in Congress--a majority that truly reflects the interests of the people of this country.


------------------------------

The key to everything--to a progressive and positive future for our country--is TRANSPARENT elections. Non-transparent elections are NOT elections. They are tyranny. That's what we have now.

VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER! If everyone who despises the Bush Junta will vote by Absentee Ballot, the rule of these rigged electronic voting systems will be OVER!

[RonHack]

6. I have an issue with one of those changes.......

I have been saying for some time (since the 2004 election was questioned) that coming up with an open-source solution to electronic voting machines (which means anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can look at the code and suggest changes to improve functionality, or patch holes) would be the smartest choice. Imagine if we had the whole world working on the problem of tamper-proof software, and tough-to-rig hardware. Once the specs of Voting 1.0 is down, others can poke holes into as much as they like, until there are no more holes to be poked, or at least not easy to poke.

Starting with Linux would be a good idea; the code is non-proprietary, easy to modify without licensing issues, plus everyone in the world interested in unrigged elections will be helping it along. I'm not sure what else to add, except simple tabulation, in order to make it a voting machine. Suggestions?

But I digress. One of the suggestions, that is:

"4. Curtail their terms, or make them electable. (--requires C amendment). "

.....I would not support.

Even if this gets rid of the "fascists", as you suggest, it can also backfire when we get this type of Executive/Legislative mix again. Remember, Roe v. Wade wasn't all that popular when it was first ruled on, and the reason that SCOTUS isn't term-limited, or impeachable, is because the role of a judge is to make Constitutionally-sound but unpopular decisions. The only reason our Judicial system is so badly scewed, is that Bush filled three positions with like-minded justices (who believe in unitary, or unlimited, executive power), and our Congress rubber-stamped them through (even though there were some questions behind their nominations).

Let's targat the REAL problems first, before we start going overboard.

[pberq]

5. kick and nominated

[greccogirl]

7. What a shame. I live here and we have a

terrible illegal immigration problem. Voter id is needed, IMHO.

[Taoschick]

9. I used to live there

And I agree something has to be done. My voter registration card was never checked, probably because they weren't allowed by law to require it and all they ever did was ask for my name.

There is too much room for error in that type of system and I do NOT want my vote watered down or cancelled by someone who isn't legally allowed to vote at my precinct.

I know it's an unpopular subject but I really believe my right to have my vote count properly outweighs any inconvenience caused by requiring voter identification.

[DirtyDawg]

11. Hey guys...

....if your posting here you probably are fed up with repig tactics engineered solely to make it harder for groups that traditionally vote Democratic to vote at all. This thing - the voter ID - in Georgia was just another one of their dirty tricks. There's been no problem with voter fraud here - specifically those attempting to vote that aren't registered or representing others - and the last thing illegal immigrants are interested in is getting caught voting fraudulently and having their fannies sent back to wherever they came from.

No this was merely a repig bill in the legislature that recognized that the only photo ID in existence is the driver's license...the elderly, the poor, those that rely solely on public transportation, shut-ins...the folks that don't have cars and don't need a license to drive them, and those that would likely like to see the Republican's that are primarily responsible for many of their, and the country's, problems, are the ones targeted with the belief and understanding that being able to reach even a majority of these folks with cameras, forms and fees, much less all of them, would be virtually impossible in time.

The current process, in fact, does call for identifying oneself at the polls...and corresponding to your name and verified address on the registration rolls. Hopefully, the Supreme Court won't rule in favor of this thing in time for the November vote.

[Taoschick]

12. Oh please,

There's been no problem with voter fraud here.

I lived in Georgia for 26 years and still own a home there. There's been voter fraud in Georgia for as long as I can remember as well as voter fraud across ALL of the USA.

Just saying, Hey...I'm jane smith and I live at 1234 Pine street isn't good enough. We require proof for all sorts of things, voting should be no different. A free voter ID card shouldn't be viewed as a burden by any honest persons.

[PegDAC]

13. The thing of it is

the state ID GA wanted to require ISN'T free. It costs $20 and there are few locations across the state to get one. That makes it next to impossible for poor people to get the required ID.

[Taoschick]

14. Sounds like

The GA DMV. You used to have to take a full day off work to get your license. That didn't stop people who wanted to drive, including the poor and the elderly from standing in line.

It should be free, though. You shouldn't have to shell out money to vote, but neither should the rules be so relaxed that I can walk in off the street and give my neighbor's name and address and cast a vote..and that is exactly the way it was for every election I voted in.

Voting is our most important right and obligation. People used to walk miles and travel by horseback to vote and now they bitch if they're driven to the polls. What's happened to us?

[mtnester]

8. Now, time to go after the one Ken Blackwell imposed a few months ago in

Ohio...the precedent has been set.

[lonestarnot]

10. Is the Supreme Court of Georgia filled with cons?

[swwallace81]

15. Here in Spalding County

I spoke with our voter registration supervisor and she said its too close to the election for this to be overturned and changing this election. She also said we're going back to the 17 forms of ID already authorized, which I still think is oppressive. Its a bad solution for a non-existent problem.