Posted on 04/18/2012 2:29:18 AM PDT by markomalley
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled Arizona may require voters to show identification at the polls, a ruling likely to add fuel to the fiery debate about voting rights in a presidential election year.
But the court also ruled the state cannot demand that they show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, a decision the state's attorney general said he would appeal.
That could set the stage for yet another U.S. Supreme Court showdown over a contentious Arizona law touching on citizenship issues. Next week, the high court will hear arguments over the state's effort to crack down on illegal immigration.
At issue in Tuesday's ruling was a 2004 Arizona ballot initiative, Proposition 200, that amended state election laws to add the citizenship and identification requirements. The measure - designed to stop illegal immigrants from voting - was challenged in court shortly afterward.
While agreeing that Arizona was within its rights to require identification at voting places, the appeals court concluded the national Voting Rights Act superseded the law's requirement that anyone registering to vote in a federal election show "satisfactory evidence" of U.S. citizenship.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not only should the states and the federal government require voter ID, but there should be some literacy test. Voting is both a right and a privilege in the USA. Voters should understand who and what they are voting for. Voters should only vote once.
When I vote in Houston, I show my voter registration and my driver’s license.
I think it became impossible to fight this when all of the other things that require a photo ID are listed (cashing a check, driving a car, boarding a plane, etc.).
How does one prove one has citizenship? A birth certificate? I would be hard-pressed to find mine. Would probably have to go back to my home town court. I don’t know anyone who carries his birth certificate in his wallet.
Right...and furthermore, the voter should be able to breath and conscience!
Liberals in Michigan are starting to whine about the lack of an investigation of our voter ID law. They claim that some 600,000 people in Michigan “aren’t allowed” to vote because they don’t have an ID.
Ours spent several years in court between passage and actual implementation so the feds may not feel that there’s any room to screw with it.
How does one prove one has citizenship? A birth certificate?
A birth certificate is easy to obtain. A letter to the clerk of the court of the county in which one was born, along with the required fee (varies by county), will allow one to obtain a certified birth certificate which is required to obtain a US Passport.
Interesting the government requires proof of citizenship to leave or enter the country but not to vote. It used to be possible to travel to Canada without a passport. No longer.
How can any self-respecting court require an illegal alien wanting to vote the same rights and privileges the illegal alien in the White House enjoys? < /sarc >
You don’t but I bet there are at least 200 Mexican nationals who have a copy of it in their wallets! (Bwahahahahaha)
Wait a minute. This decision says if you show ID you can vote but you don’t have to show you are a US citizen to prove you are a US citizen? So I can come in with NO registration and a Mexican Armed forces ID card, I can vote but don’t have to prove I live here? Maybe I’m lost...but.
I can't speak for you but I wasn't able to get my driver's license without showing my birth certificate. In fact in the not so distant past it was required by law that one show the DMV his/her birth certificate in order to verify, amongst other things, their age and... If I'm not mistaken, MOST states DMV's (ironically AZ isn't one of them) require you to present a SSN in order to get your license. Back in the day you couldn't get a state to issue you a driver's license without proving you are first old enough to drive and second that you were a US citizen. If you aren't a US citizen and you wish to drive on American roads you must have a driver's license from your home country.
Having a passport also frees you from the burdensome task of having to carry around your birth certificate. To my knowledge one must still submit verification that he/she is a US citizen (i.e. birth certificate, driver's license/state ID with a picture on it and authorized photo) and be interviewed by a living passport office employee...
Seriously... You're just being sarcastic aren't you?
The law is a bit more complex than that, but this is a MAJOR LOSS for the Fascist presence at the Department of Justice.
But not everyone must prove they are a citizen."
Ben Stein
"But the court also ruled the state cannot demand that they show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections..."How can any self-respecting court deny an illegal alien wanting to vote the same rights and privileges the illegal alien in the White House enjoys?
You can see why Constitutional Originalism is so needed. Though imperfect, it certainly is better than unteathered judicial activism.
So you need id to vote, but not citizenship to register to vote. Which witless judicial mind thought that up?
Don’t accept that 600K number. It is a statistical invention of a liberal professor. Ask: who is this demographic that either refuses or cannot attain an id, yet so desires the voting franchise?
That demographic doesn’t exist. You cannot receive welfare without an id. I don’t know any illegal (Poland, Mexico, Guatemala & Serbia) without some form of id. Where is this demographic drawn from? Who are these disenfranchised unknowns?
passport
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