Georgia seeks court approval of discriminatory voter verification process over objections of state attorney general

5/24/10 – Update – Over the objections of its Attorney General, the State of Georgia has filed a complaint against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, seeking judicial preclearance of its voter verification process under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and, in the alternative, a declaration that Section 5 is unconstitutional. Georgia is one of nine states, all with a history of discrimination, which are required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit all new voting procedures to DOJ or a federal court for “preclearance” prior to implementation. Georgia claims that its election officials need to identify the citizenship status of voters, but cannot point to any systemic problems of non-citizen voting. The U.S. Department of Justice has twice refused to preclear the new procedures, on the grounds that they incorrectly flag thousands of eligible minority voters as non-citizens. Georgia’s Attorney General Thurbert Baker -- responsible for representing the interests of the state -- refused to file the suit, asserting that the lawsuit was without merit and a waste of taxpayer money. Despite Mr. Baker's decision, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed a special attorney general to file on the state’s behalf. You can read the complaint here.

6/1/09 – Update – The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has rejected two Georgia election administration procedures enacted in 2007 with the purported purpose of verifying the identities and citizenship of voters. DOJ found that the state had failed to prove that the procedures would not have a retrogressive effect on minority voters. Georgia is one of nine states with a history of discrimination that are required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit all new voting procedures to DOJ or a federal court for “preclearance” prior to implementation. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, a Republican, did not submit the two procedures for federal review until after a coalition of voting rights groups, representing a naturalized citizen in Georgia, filed suit.

The rejected procedures used state and federal databases to verify the identities and citizenship of voter registration applicants and, in some cases, to verify the citizenship of existing registered voters. One of the procedures flagged persons as non-citizens based upon conflicting records from the Georgia voter registration database and the state’s Department of Driver Services (DDS), and required these persons to submit additional proof of their citizenship before voting. Under the second procedure -- a “no match, no vote” program -- the Secretary of State’s office would reject the voter registrations of persons who provided personal information that did not match records from the Social Security Administration or DDS databases. The Help America Vote Act of 2002, which Congress enacted to improve election administration, does not require voters to supply proof of citizenship, and instances of non-citizens voting are rare to non-existent. When such an aberration has occurred, it typically resulted from a mistake or confusion about eligibility.

Secretary of State Handel had asserted that the procedures were necessary to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. But DOJ found that Georgia had incorrectly identified thousands of eligible voters as non-citizens and that those flagged for additional scrutiny were overwhelmingly African American, Latino, or Asian American. DOJ concluded that minority voters were improperly subjected to higher burdens on their right to register and vote, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Voting rights advocates are applauding DOJ’s continued affirmation of the Act and its rejection of Georgia’s discriminatory voter verification practices.

8/12/09 – Update – The State of Georgia is appealing the Department of Justice’s rejection of two Georgia voter verification procedures under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Secretary of State Karen Handel said in a statement that she does not “believe there is anything discriminatory in verifying voter information and citizenship.” The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of several voting rights groups that brought suit against Secretary Handel in October 2008, denounced the appeal, expressing its disappointment that she has sought to defend “a flawed, unreliable database system that creates barriers to voting.” DOJ has 60 days to respond to the appeal.

10/16/09 – Update – DOJ has again rejected the two Georgia election administration procedures enacted in 2007 purportedly to verify the identities and citizenship of voters. In a letter sent to Georgia Deputy Attorney General Dennis Dunn earlier this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote that he remains “unable to conclude that the State of Georgia has carried its burden of showing that the original voter registration verification program has neither a discriminatory purpose nor a discriminatory effect.” Mr. Perez provided a list of additional information Georgia would need to provide for the Justice Department to consider the state’s changes to the system. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel has said she will discuss the state’s options with state Attorney General Thurbert Baker and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Please join the Democratic National Committee in continuing to support the Voting Rights Act and advancing the voting rights of all eligible persons.

8/12/09 – Update – The State of Georgia is appealing the Department of Justice’s rejection of two Georgia voter verification procedures under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Secretary of State Karen Handel said in a statement that she does not “believe there is anything discriminatory in verifying voter information and citizenship.” The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of several voting rights groups that brought suit against Secretary Handel in October 2008, denounced the appeal, expressing its disappointment that she has sought to defend “a flawed, unreliable database system that creates barriers to voting.” DOJ has 60 days to respond to the appeal.

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has rejected two Georgia election administration procedures enacted in 2007 purportedly to verify the identities and citizenship of voters. DOJ found that the state had failed to prove that the procedures would not have a retrogressive effect on minority voters. Georgia is one of nine states with a history of discrimination, which are required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit all new voting procedures to DOJ or a federal court for “preclearance” prior to implementation. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, a Republican, did not submit the two procedures for federal review until after a coalition of voting rights groups, representing a naturalized citizen in Georgia, filed suit.

The rejected procedures used state and federal databases to verify the identities and citizenship of voter registration applicants and, in some cases, to verify the citizenship of existing registered voters. One of the procedures flagged persons as non-citizens based upon conflicting records from the Georgia voter registration database and the state’s Department of Driver Services (DDS), and required these persons to submit additional proof of their citizenship before voting. Under the second procedure -- a “no match, no vote” program -- the Secretary of State’s office would reject the voter registrations of persons who provided personal information that did not match records from the Social Security Administration or DDS databases. The Help America Vote Act of 2002, which Congress enacted to improve election administration, does not require voters to supply proof of citizenship, and instances of non-citizens voting are rare to non-existent. When such an aberration has occurred, it typically resulted from a mistake or confusion about eligibility.

Secretary of State Handel had asserted that the procedures were necessary to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. But DOJ found that Georgia had incorrectly identified thousands of eligible voters as non-citizens and that those flagged for additional scrutiny were overwhelmingly African-American, Latino, or Asian-American. DOJ concluded that minority voters were improperly subjected to higher burdens on their right to register and vote, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Voting rights advocates are applauding DOJ’s continued affirmation of the Act and its rejection of Georgia’s discriminatory voter verification practices.

6/1/09 – Update – The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has rejected two Georgia election administration procedures enacted in 2007 purportedly to verify the identities and citizenship of voters. DOJ found that the state had failed to prove that the procedures would not have a retrogressive effect on minority voters. Georgia is one of nine states with a history of discrimination, which are required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to submit all new voting procedures to DOJ or a federal court for “preclearance” prior to implementation. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, a Republican, did not submit the two procedures for federal review until after a coalition of voting rights groups, representing a naturalized citizen in Georgia, filed suit.

The rejected procedures used state and federal databases to verify the identities and citizenship of voter registration applicants and, in some cases, to verify the citizenship of existing registered voters. One of the procedures flagged persons as non-citizens based upon conflicting records from the Georgia voter registration database and the state’s Department of Driver Services (DDS), and required these persons to submit additional proof of their citizenship before voting. Under the second procedure -- a “no match, no vote” program -- the Secretary of State’s office would reject the voter registrations of persons who provided personal information that did not match records from the Social Security Administration or DDS databases. The Help America Vote Act of 2002, which Congress enacted to improve election administration, does not require voters to supply proof of citizenship, and instances of non-citizens voting are rare to non-existent. When such an aberration has occurred, it typically resulted from a mistake or confusion about eligibility.

Secretary of State Handel had asserted that the procedures were necessary to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. But DOJ found that Georgia had incorrectly identified thousands of eligible voters as non-citizens and that those flagged for additional scrutiny were overwhelmingly African-American, Latino, or Asian-American. DOJ concluded that minority voters were improperly subjected to higher burdens on their right to register and vote, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Voting rights advocates are applauding DOJ’s continued affirmation of the Act and its rejection of Georgia’s discriminatory voter verification practices.