Georgia's Voter Registration application has a critical error which may discourage citizens from registering to vote. An orange, highlighted field in the middle of the form claims first time applicants are required to submit a photocopy of one of six approved forms of identification to be registered. Georgia law, however, requires no such thing. More below the fold...
The Georgia statute is clear: the Official Code of GA, Section 21-2-220 says that first time voters registering by mail must present identification either when registering or when voting for the first time - in other words, registrants unable to send a photocopy with their registration form can vote as long as they show a valid ID at the polls.
The fact that Georgia's voter registration application for labels as "required" something that is clearly not is appalling. Georgia's most vulnerable citizens, faced with what appears to be a requirement to send a photocopy with their registration, may decide the registration process is too burdensome and be discouraged from voting. Imagine struggling to provide for your family by working two or even three jobs until all hours of the night. Would it be possible to take time off and pay bus fare to find a copy machine and then pay for copies? Citizens of Georgia may disagree about just how burdensome such a requirement is, but that is a question for the legislature who already chose not to impose it.
Perhaps even more troubling, however, is the status of new applicants who have already registered but failed to enclose the photocopy. Such registrants should, under the statute, be able to vote as long as they present their ID at the polls. Whether this will happen, however, is unclear. A Clarke County election worker recently told me that applications that come in without the "required" photocopy are deleted from the system. A call to Sec. of State Karen Handel's office connected me to a worker in the Elections Division who confirmed this. A second trip to the local board of elections yielded a supervisor who corrected her subordinate and said such applications would be processed. Renewed calls to the Secretary of State's office have been left unanswered.
Unfortunately, this uncertainty creates a heightened risk of confusion and fraud. When election administration is put in the hands of partisan officials, those officials have a particular obligation to protect both the actuality and appearance of fairness. Secretary Handel needs to address this issue immediately to prevent a situation akin to Florida in the 2000 election where votes were thrown out at the last minute under shadowy circumstances.
The registration deadline of Oct. 6 is rapidly approaching. Sec. Handel should correct the forms by deleting the requirement text. She also should make clear her office is accepting the applications of voters who do not enclose a photocopy of their identification. The integrity of our election process and indeed of our democracy requires nothing less.
hyperlink of statute in question: http://www.sos.ga.gov/...
hyperlink to GA Sec. of State where you can get PDF of voter registration application:
http://sos.georgia.gov/...