Top Georgia court hears voter ID appeal

[Judi Lynn]

March 12, 2007, 10:19PM
Top Georgia court hears voter ID appeal

By SHANNON McCAFFREY Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Requiring photos as proof of identity to vote is an unconstitutional burden that resurrects memories of Jim Crow-era laws designed to keep blacks from the polls, former Gov. Roy Barnes told the state's highest court Monday.

But a lawyer for the state said its ID law seeks to prevent fraud at the ballot box and would not disenfranchise elderly, poor and minority voters as critics claim.

"There is nothing in this law ... that deprives one person of the right to vote," Mark Cohen told the state Supreme Court.

Monday's arguments before the court mark the latest chapter in the more than two-year battle over voter ID in Georgia.

Attempts by the Legislature to require photo IDs from those seeking to cast a ballot have been blocked by courts, which have now said two separate versions of the law are unconstitutional.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4623972.html