URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/guest_columns/223358opinion09-15-04.htm

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Nothing Ominous in Voter ID Law
By Patrick J. Rogers
Albuquerque Attorney
    David A. Garcia, Joe Thompson and I represent state Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque; Steve Cabiedes, the Green Party candidate for Bernalillo county clerk; and Glen Stout, the father of a 13-year-old registered to vote by ACORN, one of the groups closely aligned with the Democratic Party.
    We respectfully disagree with the order entered last Thursday because it is not "too late" to follow the simple identification laws designed to deter voter fraud.
    Our clients have instructed us to take all reasonable steps to obtain enforcement of the law. These ID laws were described by this able, experienced District Court judge as both "clear" and "unambiguous."
    More than 16 states have identification requirements with real teeth, but this secretary of state and most of the leadership of the Democratic Party have long opposed ID checks to deter voter fraud in New Mexico.
    That partisan opposition dates back past the conviction of the chairwoman of the Bernalillo County Democratic Party for voter registration fraud and her pardon by President Clinton on his very "busy" last day in office. But the concern about fraud and the need for ID before voting should not be a partisan issue.
    Most New Mexicans— and Democrats more strongly than Republicans and Greens— are concerned about fraud at the ballot box and are prepared to show ID before voting. A poll by a nationally recognized company establishes that even newly registered voters are concerned about fraud and have no problem with the very minor ID requirement in the clear and unambiguous law.
    No fraud? In the words of one U.S. president, maybe it depends on what your definition of "is" is.
    Stout testified to the registration forgery and the fraudulent registration of his 13-year-old son. An ACORN representative, just prior to taking the Fifth Amendment to avoid questions, admitted as much and also admitted to the firing of the ACORN employee. How many more forgeries are on the Bernalillo County rolls?
    No fraud? Even representatives of the Bernalillo County Clerk admitted to meeting with the U.S. attorney and providing registration forms for a criminal investigation.
    No fraud? Well, in the words of one other famous former president, "There they go again."
    In order to enforce the state laws requiring a minor ID check for first-time voters registering after July 1, 2003, only very minor changes in the operation of the Bernalillo County Clerk's office would be required. The election bureaucrats could have used the time and money spent on opposing these laws to inform voters and comply with the law.
    Partisan bureaucrats should not be rewarded for their attempts to undo "clear" and "unambiguous" ID laws designed to deter fraud. The orders to ignore the laws are from the same secretary of state who recorded telephone messages for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, sent to only registered Democrats to get out only the Democratic vote in 2000.
    To ignore the simple identification laws on the basis of the partisan whims, the secretary of state thwarts the will of the voters and the Constitution. To paraphrase Justice Sutherland, the law must be upheld when it pinches as well as when it comforts, or all laws may as well be abandoned.
    This very minor identification requirement in current law may be pinching the secretary of state, ACORN, other "527" groups and particularly the head of the Democratic Party, but it is the law and compliance is no chore.
    We represent some people who believe the identification law should be enforced— even if it requires the secretary of state and the county clerk to actually do something they do not want to do: a simple ID check for those persons who did not register in person at a county clerk's office after the law went into effect July 1, 2003.
    The text of these "unambiguous" laws, as well as court documents, are on Cabiedes' Web site, www.steve4clerk.org. Before you buy the spin of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, check out the facts yourself.