AJC Deeply Concerned Over States Voter ID Initiatives
May 13, 2008 – New York – The American Jewish Committee is deeply concerned over state-proposed constitutional amendments and legislation requiring proof of citizenship from some Americans registering to vote.
“These state initiatives place an unwarranted and unconstitutional burden by unfairly discriminating against the elderly, the poor, the handicapped, students and minorities, who are more likely to find it difficult to prove their citizenship,” said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC’s general counsel.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld an Indiana law that requires voters to present government-issued photo ID at the polls. In the wake of that ruling, new initiatives, now being considered in at least 19 state legislatures, would allow far more rigorous demands.
California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington are considering harsher regulations.
"Measures requiring proof of citizenship raise the bar higher, because they offer fewer options for documentation," said Sinensky. "In most cases, aspiring voters would have to produce an original birth certificate, naturalization papers or a passport."
Since the end of World War II, AJC has been at the forefront of protecting the constitutional right of all Americans to vote. AJC was a strong supporter of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that forbids poll taxes, literacy tests and the intimidation of African American voters.
AJC has joined as amicus curiae in a number of cases on the side of strong enforcement and broad implementation of voting rights. AJC’s Atlanta Chapter signed onto a letter to the Department of Justice in opposition to Georgia’s Voter ID law, stating that its provisions were discriminatory and retrogressive.
Twenty-four states presently require some form of identification in order to vote.
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