Private: A Poll Tax in Georgia?

by Liz Aloi, Editor-at-Large
As widely reported, starting this month, pursuant to a law passed by the Governor in April, the state of Georgia will only accept government-issued photo ID's from individuals when they vote. Driver's licenses count but people without drivers licenses will have to buy a state ID card in order to cast their ballot. The ID cards cost $20 for every fives or $35 every 10 years. They are currently sold in 58 locations; but cannot be bought in Atlanta, the largest city in the in the state. Citizens who swear they are indigent are exempt from the fee. However, the law does not define who is indigent and those who incorrectly attest to their indigency status risk a criminal penalty. Governor Perdue claims that the new law will help to prevent voter fraud.
In April, ACSBlog reported on the controversial photo ID. The post discussed an article by Spencer Overton (who now posts on these same issues at blackprof.com) that argued , "Photo ID requirements reduce participation by legitimate voters." According to Overton,

One study by the Task Force on Federal Election System showed that 6 percent to 10 percent of the existing American electorate lacks any form of state ID. According to the AARP's Georgia chapter, about 36 percent of Georgians over 75 have no driver's license.

Georgia is a pre-clearance state under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. This means that because Georgia has historically disenfranchised minority voters, any change to the state's voting laws must be cleared by the Justice Department. On August 26th the Justice Department approved the Georgia law over protests by the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, among others. Rep. Tyrone Brooks, chairman of the Association has said the organization will pursue further legal action. The ACLU also plans to challenge the legislation as unconstitutional. The ACLU previously sent this letter to Governor Perdue opposing the legislation.
Data shows that mandating the use of Government issued photo identification without providing, as under prior law, for an alternative by affidavit has a vastly disproportionate impact on minorities. Included in the same legislation with the photo identification requirement is a provision liberalizing absentee voting procedures, a move favorable to white voters. United States Rep. John Lewis a veteran of the civil rights movement, said, "It is unbelievable, it is unreal the Department of Justice -- an agency who is supposed to protect the American public by enforcing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- is now involved in attempts to weaken the act."
Nineteen other states currently require voters to show identification, but only five request photo ID's. Those states, which are Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota allow voters without a photo ID to use other forms of identification or sign an affidavit of identity. Before this legislation Georgia accepted Social Security cards, birth certificates, utility bills and other forms of identification at the polls.
To enhance ballot integrity, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform recently recommended, "states should require voters to present a REAL ID card at the polls and provide non-drivers with a free photo ID card for voting, but during a transition, citizens without a card should be permitted to vote with a provisional ballot." President Jimmy Carter, one of the chairs of the commission, condemned the Georgia legislation calling it a "poll tax." "[I]t is a poll tax because the Georgia law which ought to be overthrown by the courts requires that you buy a voter ID card, which costs you about $20 for five years, or $35 for 10 years. That is a poll tax." The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." In 1966, the Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, held that poll taxes for state elections are an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment. The Court declared, ""the right to vote is too precious, too fundamental to be so burdened."Opponents of the Georgia law argue that this new law is a "the law is a national disgrace" that disproportionately effects the poor, blacks, and elderly, and is merely a poll tax by another name. Opponents also point to the fact that the Georgia ID cards are only sold in 58 locations, none of which are located in Georgia's largest city and state capital-Atlanta.
While there are plans to challenge the new law, It is hard to predict how the Court's will handle the issue; there is little jurisprudence interpreting the 24th Amendment.