Reminder: photo ID’s required in upcoming election

Voters taking part in the upcoming General Primary Election that begins Monday, July 7 and end Friday, July 11, 2008 must show one of the following six forms of photo ID:

• A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired;
• Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS);
• Valid U.S. passport;
• Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
• Valid U.S. military photo ID; or
• Valid tribal photo ID.

If a voter does not have one of these forms of photo identification, they can obtain a free voter ID card at their county registrar’s office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services, according to a statement issued by the Secretary of State’s Office.

Additional information about Georgia’s photo ID requirement is here:
www.GAPhotoID.com, or call toll free (877) 725-9797.

Contact information can be found on the 2008 Election Center website:
http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/ElectionCenter08.htm.

Downloadable and printable absentee ballot request forms are here:
http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/ElectionCenter08.htm.

Voters can find voter registration information, including polling locations and legislative districts, by visiting http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/ElectionCenter08.htm or by calling (888) 265-1115.

NAACP looks ahead to July/November elections

Voter turnout has been high nationwide at this year's Presidential primaries. Voting has also been under the spotlight lately because several states have passed laws requiring photo identification. Georgia is included in that list and you do have to present a government-issued ID at the polls here. But it's been controversial.

Opponents say requiring photo ID at the polls makes voting a burden for some elderly and minorities who may not have an ID. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed and upheld Indiana's right to require photo ID at the polls. But the controversy is not over in Georgia. In advance of July’s statewide elections, the Georgia NAACP has begun working to ensure all eligible Georgians get to vote.

The group is hoping to avoid a repeat of Super Tuesday 2008, in November. The group's President Edward DuBose says nearly a thousand voters were purged in February from local rolls based upon inaccurate data.

"Our concern now as we move into a historic presidential election, is that these rulings coincide so closely with an election that is history making."

Adopting a strategy that has its origins in the civil rights movement of yesteryear, the group plans a massive grass roots undertaking, to ensure that everyone who is eligible has the proper identification.

"We've got to engage our coalition partners like ministers, and fraternity and sorority organizations, to get out in some cases, knocking on doors. Our question anf our concern at the same time is, will Georgia be ready?"

The group says it has planned local and regional information session, right up to July's statement elections and on into the November presidential showdown.

And, if necessary, the NAACP says following both elections, it will call for public hearings in case of election rights violations.

400 Georgia voters lack ID, don't get ballot

State election officials report that 416 Georgians, who lacked photo ID, were turned away from polls during the February 5th presidential primary. Under the state’s new voter ID law, citizens who show up to a poll without ID can return within 48 hours to cast a ballot. However, only 120 Georgians of the 416 returned in time to cast a valid ballot. Critics have claimed the law disenfranchises the poor, elderly and minorities. Secretary of State Karen Handel says her office received no complaints about the new ID requirement on election day.

Phase Three of Voter Photo ID outreach begins

In preparation for the primaries on Feb. 5, Phase Three of Secretary of State Karen Handel's Photo ID outreach begins, reports Access North Georgia.com.

Her office identified thousands of active and inactive registered voters who may not have a Georgia driver's license or identification card. They will receive letters reminding them they must present photo identification if they're going to the polls.

Photo ID is not required with an absentee ballot by mail.

The outreach encompasses voters who registered to vote after local elections in the fall and both voters targeted and not targeted in previous phases.

Acceptable forms of identifications follows:

• Georgia driver's license, even if expired
• Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID
• Valid U.S. passport
• Valid government employee photo ID
  
• Valid U.S. military photo ID or valid tribal photo ID

Voters who do not have one of the forms of identification listed above may receive a free Georgia Voter ID from their county elections office.