Election Officials Imposed Illegal Voter Identification Requirements
RICHMOND, VA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the ACLU national office today filed a federal lawsuit against Prince William County voting officials for refusing to allow a resident to vote when he was unable to produce identification. State law allows registered voters in state elections to vote without an ID, once they have signed a form verifying their identity.
R. Leigh Gillette showed up at the Enterprise Elementary School polling place on November 6 about 30 minutes before the polls closed. Because he was on his way to a recreation facility and his wife was driving, Gillette was not carrying an ID. When a poll worker told him he could not vote without ID, Gillette asked to speak to the person in charge who also told him he could not vote. Gillette was never offered an Affirmation of Identity form as required by Virginia law.
“This is our number one complaint from voters on Election Day,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “Contrary to state law, the spirit of democracy and common sense, voting officials in Virginia frequently lead voters to believe they must have an ID to vote. In Mr. Gillette’s case, it was more than misleading – it was an outright denial, even after he questioned the decision by voting officials.”
Today’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The ACLU charged that the county election officials’ actions in requiring voters to present identification in order to vote violates the Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments. In addition to being unnecessary, a voter ID requirement may prevent many individuals from voting at all. It is estimated that 20 million Americans – many of whom are low-income, elderly or racial minorities – do not own government-issued IDs.
Virginia lawmakers recently attempted to amend the state law to require voters to show an ID at the polls. The ACLU opposed the legislation, noting that it is unnecessary because voting without an ID does not pose a threat to the integrity of the electoral process. The ACLU relied on a recent national study of electoral practices which concluded that there is no history of in person voter fraud in the U.S. The bill failed.
Attorneys in this case are Rebecca K. Glenberg of the ACLU of Virginia, Bradley of the ACLU Voting Rights Project and cooperating attorney Victor M. Glasberg of the law firm Victor M. Glasberg & Associates.
A copy of the complaint is available at: www.aclu.org/votingrights/gen/34243lgl20080228.html
Contact: Kent Willis, Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia (804) 644-8022
