Organize the South

Below is an article from the Guardian (original link here). There's an interesting paragraph where Secretary of State Handel said 3,585 ID's had been issued so folks could vote. It then says 522 of those had been done since the education effort started on August 1. What I find so interesting is that the AJC story reports Handel spending $250,000 on educational efforts on the new law. Handel said, "It was my view as long as the state made the effort to do the education and outreach, we would be able to manage if we did our jobs. All of that happened." Does it really make sense to say the outreach happened? 522 people got ID's who otherwise wouldn't have. That's about $478.93 per person spent on voter education statewide. To be fair, this was such a small election it's hard to read a lot into it. Unfortunately, I don't think there's data on who didn't vote because of the new law. We may have that on the primary. But I don't think we'll ever know how much more effort is put into turnout because of this. I'm thinking we're going to have to start pushing absentee ballots.

Georgia Voter ID Law Passes Test

Wednesday September 19, 2007 4:46 AM
By SHANNON McCAFFREY
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Local elections in 23 counties ran without a hitch on Tuesday in the biggest test yet of the state's new law requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot, election officials said.

``I didn't notice anything different,'' said Jennifer Rivers of South Fulton, which is voting on whether to incorporate. ``I think people are used to having to show ID to do most anything these days. I know I am.''

Secretary of State Karen Handel said Georgia poll workers have been trained to allow those without photo IDs to cast a provisional ballot. They would then have 48 hours to present a valid ID in order for their vote to count.

``We want as many people who are eligible to vote to be able to vote,'' Handel said.

Opponents of the voter ID law warn that hundreds of thousands people lack the photo ID needed to vote and will stay away from the polls. Most experts say the true test of the law will come in Georgia's Feb. 5 presidential primary, when turnout is expected to be far higher.

Lawyers and legislators in Georgia have been battling over voter ID for several years now.

Opponents claim the photo ID law will disenfranchise minorities, the poor and the elderly who don't have a driver's license or other valid government-issued photo. Supporters say the law is needed to prevent voter fraud and preserve the integrity of the electoral system.

The most recent twist came when a federal judge this month cleared the way for the law to take effect. U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy had found an earlier version of the law unconstitutional, saying it amounted to a poll tax. The Legislature addressed his complaints in a subsequent version, which made photo IDs free to anyone who needed them.

Handel's office reported that 3,585 state photo ID cards have been issued to Georgians who presumably lacked the needed photo identification, 522 of them since the state launched an education effort on Aug. 1 to let voters know about the new requirement.

Lawyers who challenged the law are deciding whether to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A separate state lawsuit also failed. The Georgia Supreme Court tossed out a challenge filed by former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes.

The voter ID law had been used three times in Richmond and Gwinnett counties in 2005 before it was blocked by the courts.