On The Front Lines
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Indiana Voter ID Case; Rutherford Asks Court to Affirm Fundamental Right to Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute are challenging the constitutionality of an Indiana law that requires American citizens to produce valid photo IDs such as a driver's license or passport in order to vote. Insisting that this increasingly popular form of balloting restriction places a burden on the ease with which Americans can exercise their right to vote, Institute attorneys have filed a "friend of the court" brief in the case of Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd. A copy of the Institute's brief is available online at here.
"In a democracy, there is no right more fundamental than the right to vote," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Unlike driving, flying or even writing a check, voting is a fundamental constitutional right, one that should have few barriers in its way. Thus, any law that denies American citizens unfettered access to the voting booth should be viewed with great skepticism."
There has been a marked rise in the adoption of voting laws in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election debacle, with more than 20 states requiring stricter measures that require the voter to produce some form of valid, government-issued ID such as a driver's license or passport in order to vote. In challenging Indiana's photo ID law, which went into effect in July 2005, Institute attorneys argue that the law, if it is allowed to stand, could result in the disenfranchisement of certain groups-- such as the poor, elderly, disabled and student voters--and further weaken privacy rights.
As Institute attorneys point out, photo IDs often contain far more information than that necessary to comply with voting requirements. For example, the Indiana driver's license contains the address of the holder, information about the holder's height and weight and the holder's driver's license number. Some older licenses also contain the holder's Social Security number. And as the brief makes clear, anything that reduces the privacy of voting undermines both voter confidence and the integrity of the process.
The Institute's brief also argues that Indiana's photo ID requirement, if upheld, could open the door for states to require Real IDs as the only acceptable form of voter identification. Real IDs, in particular, pose a greater risk of abuse, as the biometric data contained on the cards could one day be obtained when the voter uses it to vote. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided in January 2007 to uphold the Indiana law. For purposes of review, Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd. was consolidated with Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita.
