As week 1 of the General Assembly came to a close Common Cause Georgia found itself  unable to support the latest legislation on Georgia Voter ID (House substitute for SB-84).  

The bill was introduced on the first day of the session and passed the House by a 110-64 vote on Thursday.  After passage in the House, Senate leaders decided to hold off voting on the bill until the week of January 23rd.  As it currently stands, all signs point to the bill's passage in the Senate in much the same fashion as it did in the House.  

Even though SB 84 improves on current law by making the photo ID card a no-cost item and increases accessibility for those who would need to get it, we cannot endorse the bill as it currently stands. There are two main problems.  The first problem is  that it would go into effect immediately upon signing by the Governor - which would require all affected Georgia voters to react quickly if they were to re-register prior to the July 2006 primaries.  The other key problem we have is that the law would require a photo ID to vote in person, but does nothing to address voter fraud in absentee voting which is where fraud is most likely to occur.

As we have been saying all along, we want to work with the leadership in the General Assembly to craft a bill that satisfies the need for protection against voter fraud but does not disenfranchise any of Georgia's voters.  However, the manner in which this bill proceeded through the House didn't allow for any such discussion.

Our board has decided that we cannot support the new Voter ID bill.  As a non-partisan organization we have conscientiously tried to give this bill a fair assessment. If there is still a chance of slowing this bill down, we would welcome a chance to work with leaders to address the reforms in a more comprehensive manner.

What do you think of the new Voter ID bill?  If you don't support this bill what do you think would be a good compromise solution to prevent voter fraud without disenfranchising voters?  If you do support this bill, tell us why. We welcome an open dialog.