Associated Press
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico sued the city of Albuquerque on Thursday over its new voter ID ordinance, contending it's unconstitutional.
The ordinance, approved by voters Oct. 4, requires people who vote at the polls to present a current, valid identification card that includes their name and photograph. People who vote absentee are exempt from photo ID requirements.
"Why should people who actually show their faces at the polling place suffer more rigorous identification requirements than someone who votes from a distance?'' said Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU. "It doesn't make sense. We're creating two classes of voters. The Constitution doesn't permit that.''
Mark Shoesmith, an assistant city attorney, said the city could not comment because officials had not seen the lawsuit.
However, he said the ordinance contains fail-safe procedures to make sure people get to vote — even if they lack a photo ID — by using paper provisional ballots. A canvassing board later counts those that are ruled valid.
"You always get a provisional ballot as a last recourse,'' Shoesmith said.
Voters then have a number of options to make sure their ballot gets counted.
Shoesmith said the ordinance gives people up to 10 days after an election to present photo identification at the city clerk's office. People who don't have a photo ID can present two types of non-photo identification with their name and address or sign an affidavit verifying their identity. After the city verifies the person is registered to vote, the city issues a photo ID, he said.
In addition, people who object to having their photo taken can sign an affidavit saying so, he said.
"You can get your photo ID from us before election day, on election day or within 10 days after the election for your provisional ballot to count,'' Shoesmith said.
The ACLU's Simonson said, however, "if you're poor or homeless, there's a good chance you don't have any of the permissible forms of identification.''
"Wealth shouldn't determine your ability to participate in democracy,'' he said in a news release. "Americans shouldn't have to jump through unnecessary hoops to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote.''
Earlier Thursday, a federal appeals court refused to let Georgia demand photo identification from all voters at the polls. Last week, a federal judge barred Georgia from enforcing a new photo-ID law during local elections next month, saying it amounted to an unconstitutional poll tax that could prevent poor people, blacks and the elderly from voting. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift the stay.
Georgia's law does not allow alternative forms of identification. Under it, voters have to show either a driver's license or a state-issued photo ID, available for up to $35. Previously, voters could show Social Security cards, birth certificates and utility bills.
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