Federal Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Against Voter ID Law

A federal judge in Alabama dismissed a lawsuit against the state’s voter ID law, saying that it doesn’t prevent anybody from voting because “nearly the entire population of registered voters in Alabama already possess a photo ID that can be used for voting.”

For those who don’t, obtaining a qualifying ID can be done “with little to no effort and no cost.”

into place to help prevent voter fraud and to strengthen voter confidence in the voting process.

Another reason to lawsuit was thrown out was because Alabama accepts 7 different easily obtainable photo ID’s, including an Alabama driver/non-driver’s license, a photo ID card issued by any state or the federal government, a U.S. passport, a student or employee ID, a military ID card, or a tribal ID card.

Voters can request a free photo ID from the state of Alabama, something at as of 2017, only 33 people across the entire state had taken advantage of. Voters who need birth or marriage certificates in order to get those photo ID’s can get those for free as well.

In addition to how easy it is to obtain a photo ID, a voter who shows up to the polls with no photo ID can still vote if they are positively recognized by two people who work at the polls.

Democrats wanted to remove the law because they claimed it was aimed at keeping minorities, who are less likely to have photo ID, away from the polls. Democrats also claim that it’s more difficult for minorities to obtain photo ID’s, despite the fact that the can get one for free from the state.

As Judge Scott Coogler pointed out, “[m]inorities do not have less opportunity to vote under Alabama’s Photo ID law, because everyone has the same opportunity to obtain an ID.”