Georgia Voting: Citizens Only, Please

Radio Commentary, WMVV 90.7 New Life FM, September 17, 2010
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. I have good news today! If you’re a United States citizen and registered to vote in Georgia, you can head to the polls in November. But, non-citizens can’t vote, thanks to the Secretary of State’s lawsuit that nudged the Justice Department into approving Georgia’s voter verification system.

It’s been a long, hard battle since January 2005, when Senator Staton introduced S.B. 84, but it was worth it. Four weeks ago, the governor announced that the Justice Department had, finally, approved the state voter ID system to keep non-citizens from voting. S.B. 84 went through 17 versions over two legislative sessions before it passed and was signed by the governor January 25, 2006. It was supposed to take effect the next day, but it wound up in court. The Justice Department would not allow the use of drivers’ licenses and Social Security databases to confirm voter citizenship. But that’s changed now.

If you want to vote in Georgia, you must present a valid Georgia driver’s license or voter ID card or a United States passport. Or you may present an employee card that’s issued by the federal, state or local government or your military ID or tribal ID if you are a Native American. Prospective voters who cannot produce one of those documents will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot, but provisional ballots won’t be counted until voter identity is verified.

About this long and costly battle, Secretary of State Kemp said this, “When we filed the lawsuit, I was criticized by some because they believed it would be too time-consuming and expensive. However, after waiting for nearly a year-and-a-half for a final administrative decision from the DOJ, I was certain that litigation was the only way to put Georgia in a position to obtain final approval from the federal government of our voter verification procedures. After the litigation was filed, it took less than two months for the DOJ to consent to preclearance of the verification process.” Here’s the moral I want to leave with you. Sometimes it’s worth whatever time, money and energy it takes to get the job done. This is one of those times. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.