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Advocacy Blog
Friday, June 27, 2008
Voter ID Lawsuits Filed in Indiana
It has been two months since the controversial Supreme Court decision upholding Indiana's voter identification law requiring photo ID for anyone casting a ballot. Since the Supreme Court left open as applied challenges in federal court and state constitution challenges, two lawsuits in Indiana have already been filed.
The League of Women Voters of Indiana filed a lawsuit in Marion County against Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita. The lawsuit argues that it has the standing to sue on behalf of its members because the statute burdens potential voters and would cause the league to have to spend a great of deal resources assisting voters without the required ID. According to the Indiana Lawyer, "the suit says the 2005-passed Indiana voter ID law violates the Indiana Constitution's Article 2, Section 2, which states citizens only need to meet the age, citizenship, and residency requirements in order to cast a vote in-person. Any change the legislature might make must come through a constitutional amendment, not a statute, which didn't happen here, the suit says."
Co-counsel William Groth said, "It's a strict question of constitutional interpretation. Our argument will turn on whether the voter ID law imposes a new substantive requirement, or whether it's merely regulating the mechanics of the voting process. It's a subtle and nuanced distinction, but our Indiana caselaw supports that this must be a constitutional amendment."
The suit mentions two specific election examples where individuals were restricted from voting because of the ID law, including the famous May 2008 Indiana primary incident when 12 elderly nuns were not even allowed to cast provisional ballots because they didn't have the required ID.
In a separate lawsuit filed in Indiana, Robbin Stewart challenges the law for philosophical reasons. "It's different when going to an airport or driving a car, because those aren't constitutional rights, he said."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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