Georgia ID Case Back in Court
The AP has this report on a hearing in a Fulton County court today, regarding Georgia's photo identification requirement. Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. issued no ruling after a four-hour hearing.

The state reportedly attempted to justify the requirement on the ground that eligible voters can vote absentee without presenting photo ID. But this explanation, in reality, casts into doubt the state' s ostensible justification for the law -- namely fraud prevention. One of the major questions surrounding the photo ID law is what justification exists for requiring photo ID of those who vote in person, but not those who cast mail-in absentee ballots.

Two injunctions were previously issued against Georgia's current photo ID law, one from a federal court and another from a state court, for elections held in July and August. Court filings from the federal case (Common Cause/Georgia v. Billups) are available here. As noted in this order, a hearing is set for Thursday in the federal case before Judge Harold Murphy, on a second motion for a preliminary injunction. Plaintiffs seek an order that would extend the ban on enforcement through special elections set for this month. - posted by Dan Tokaji @ 11:58 PM