On Tuesday, September 18, when you head to the polls - be sure to bring your photo ID or you will not be permitted to vote.

Recently challenged, Georgia’s controversial photo voter ID law survived a major court challenge a few weeks ago, when a federal judge found it did not impose a significant burden on the right to vote despite that it is “said to be one of the most restrictive in the country”.

“It’s a tremendous victory for Georgia, for our citizens and for the integrity of our elections,” Secretary of State Karen Handel said in a joint press conference with Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Yes, this change should aid in deferring fraud but look at Georgia’s combination of organizations that filed the suit that challenged this change and a handful of our population stats:

Common Cause/Georgia, League of Women Voters of Georgia, the Central Presbyterian Outreach and Advocacy Center, the NAACP, the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, the Concerned Black Clergy of Metro Atlanta and two individuals, Bertha Young, a 78-year-old woman from Rome, and Eugene Taylor of Screven County.

Population, 2006 estimate 9,363,941
- Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2005 26.0% (approx. 2,434,645 from total population)
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6,929,296 able to vote

Female persons, percent, 2005 50.5% (approx. 4,728,790 from total population)
- 3,499,294 females over 18 (generalizing there is a proportionate # of females above and below 18)
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3,430,002 men over 18

Black persons, percent, 2005 29.8% (approx. 2,790,454 from total population)
2,064,930 black persons over 18 (generalizing there is a proportionate # of black persons above and below 18)

Persons below poverty, percent, 2004 13.7% (approx. 1,282,860 from total population)
9,493,314 persons below poverty over 18 (generalizing there is a proportionate # of persons below poverty above and below 18)

Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000 1,456,812

(Source: US Census)

I’m not subtracting the last three numbers due to overlap between the categories I chose include above. I just included this to demonstrate that out of the approximate number of voters in Georgia, over 1/3 of them are against this… and forgive me for bringing political bias into this, but should the government not represent the people and encourage everyone to vote?

I’ve read opinions online from those touting, “The tired rant of racism and economic disadvantage clearly is a smokescreen for those with a less than honest agenda” and I have to disagree. It’s not new that Georgia has over twice as many black persons, greater persons under poverty, lower income and greater persons per household, in comparison to the rest of the nation, which to our detriment, stereotypes based off history, imply to the rest of the nation and our local communities, that this new voting requirement could affect a good chunk of Georgia’s voting population.

What are your thoughts? Should Georgia require a photo ID? Should every state? What are the benefits and risk of this?

Example of Card:

Visit the official Georgia Photo ID site for more info on what ID’s are acceptable, how to obtain a Georgia Photo Voter ID card, and contact information if you have more questions.