KVOA News 4, Tucson, Arizona - 9th Circuit Court blocks Arizona voter ID law<<Back


                        Erica Heartquist Reports
                        9th Circuit Court blocks Arizona voter ID law

                        Oct 6, 2006 08:31 AM MST 

                        Arizona's voting law is in upheaval a little more than a 
                        month before the general election. 
                        Late Wednesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San 
                        Francisco blocked the enforcement of Proposition 200.
                        Arizona voters passed Proposition 200 back in 2004.
                        It requires voters to show identification at the polls 
                        and to have proof of citizenship when registering to 
                        vote.
                        At least six advocacy groups, Including MALDEF, an 
                        Hispanic rights advocacy group, filed a lawsuit 
                        challenging the proposition.
                        They claimed it would disenfranchise some voters.
                        Secretary of State Jan Brewer sent out this statement, 
                        Wednesday night expressing concern over the timing of 
                        the court's decision, which she says "will lead to 
                        confusion at the polls."
                        Attorney General Terry Goddard said in a statement 
                        Wednesday night that he will "promptly seek a review of 
                        the court's decision" and appeal directly to the U.S. 
                        Supreme Court, if necessary.
                        News 4 wanted to know what the local voters thought of 
                        the timing of the decision by the 9th Circuit Court.
                        Opinions are mixed.
                        "I can see both sides of the argument. It makes sense 
                        though that there's ID's because there seems to be a lot 
                        of malicious people so it's kind of protecting everyone 
                        by being a little bit more strict. I can understand 
                        that," says Pima Community College student, Jared 
                        McFarland.
                        The 2004 law requires voters at polling places to show 
                        government-issued picture IDs or two pieces of other 
                        non-photo identification.
                        Some people we talked to said the federal court should 
                        "butt-out" and uphold what the voters want.
                        Jason Parrish, a long time Tucsonan who voted for 
                        Proposition 200, said, "It's a situation where we made 
                        up our mind what we wanted to do in this state and 
                        someone came along and said, 'You shouldn't be allowed 
                        to do this.' I question why they did it. I don't agree 
                        with (the court's decision) at all."
                        Tucsonan Robert Jenkins told us, "You should be able to 
                        vote even if you're a homeless person. If you don't have 
                        any ID, you should be able to vote if you're registered, 
                        so I agree with their decision that you don't need it."
                        Jenkins added, "It seems like it makes it a little 
                        easier for voter corruption, possibly, so they'll have 
                        to figure out some measure to check on voting, but I 
                        like their decision in general."
                        "I think that the court should respect the ruling that 
                        we have here in Arizona and that it's okay for people to 
                        show their ID when they vote. I think it's a good idea," 
                        says Sarah Sparks, a Tucsonan.
                        The court ruled that the injunction will stand until the 
                        court decides on the appeal, which could take months.
                        That means those Proposition 200 requirements most 
                        likely won't be enforced November 7th.
                        Early voting began Wednesday and you have until midnight 
                        Monday to register, if you want to vote in November.






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