(Washington, DC) - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights is extremely disappointed by today’s ruling from a federal district court in favor of Georgia’s voter identification law. By ruling in favor of this harmful law, the integrity of Georgia’s election process will be undermined.

The Georgia law reduces the various forms of identification that voters can use from 17 to 6, and makes state-issued photo identification absolutely required in order to vote. “This ruling creates a price tag to vote that will disproportionately burden Georgia’s minority voters, the elderly, the disabled, and students,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee.

Georgia is one of nine states covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires the state to demonstrate to the federal government that any change it makes relating to voting will not negatively impact minority voters. In 2005, the Lawyers’ Committee harshly criticized the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to fulfill its statutory duty by injecting partisan politics into its decision to approve Georgia’s voter ID law. Recent revelations on the politicalization of the Justice Department underscore the extent in which politics often trump voters’ rights at the agency.

“We are now considering our next steps in Georgia but will continue to press forward in other states that are imposing unnecessary barriers to full participation in federal and state elections,” added Arnwine.

The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

For more information on the Lawyers' Committee, visit us at www.lawyerscommittee.org



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