Atlanta Progressive News

Secretary of State Karen Hanel announced Wednesday the state of Georgia has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to reconsider its May 2009 objection of preclearance for two voter verification processes, a decision Handel “strongly disagreed with.”

The process, implemented in March 2007, cross-checks five different criteria provided by new voter registration applicants with information in the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) or Social Security Administration databases: first and last name, date of birth, driver’s license number, or the last four digits of a person’s Social Security number.

If the applicant reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, the county registrar asks the applicant to provide proof of citizenship.

“I do not believe there is anything discriminatory in verifying voter information and citizenship,” Secretary Handel said in a statement Wednesday.

Questions emerged last year about the process when the Social Security Administration sent Hanel a letter on October 3 asking why her office had requested checks on around two million Georgia voters.

“Such a volume appears to be much greater than one would expect, given that states of comparable or larger populations have a significantly lower number of verification requests,” the letter stated.

“I ask that you look into this matter to ensure that your election officials are verifying only those newly-registered voters who do not have suitable state-issued identification. If your state’s election officials are requesting verifications not covered by the verification agreement, we ask that you bring your procedures into conformance with your legal obligations.”

On October 8, the DOJ sent a letter to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker noting the state failed to submit its changes in verification methods to the federal government for judicial or administrative review. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Georgia must ask the DOJ for preclearance before making any changes to election law or procedures.  

“It is necessary that [these changes] be brought before the United States District Court of Columbia or submitted to the [U.S.] attorney general for a determination that they do not have the purpose and will not have the effect of discriminating on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group,” the letter stated.

“Changes that affect voting are legally unenforceable unless and until pre-clearance under Section 5 has been obtained.”

A coalition of voting rights groups, including the ACLU and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF), brought a lawsuit against Handel on October 9 on behalf of Cherokee County resident Jose Morales, a Kennesaw State University student and naturalized citizen who received a letter in September questioning his citizenship.

The lawsuit argued Handel not only violated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act but also the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, specifically by using the results of the records checks to challenge voters within 90 days of an election.

“Eligible citizens should not be required to jump through impossible hoops to perform the basic right of voting,” Jon Greenbaum, director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a press release in October. “These requirements are in clear violation of election law and present a systematic bias against naturalized citizens.”

The next day, Handel issued a statement arguing her office has a job to make sure only U.S. citizens and Georgians vote in Georgia and that her office has “followed the law.”

“The lawsuit filed in Georgia appears to be an orchestrated and well-organized effort to dismantle our state’s identification laws and verification process,” Handel said. “The safeguards we have in place help to ensure that only those applicants and voters who meet all eligibility factors are permitted to cast a ballot in our elections.”

“I have a sworn duty to protect the integrity and security of our state’s elections, and will fight any attempt to breach Georgians’ trust in our electoral process.”

A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, ruled on October 27 the state should have sought DOJ approval for its verification process and ordered Handel to immediately notify any voters whose registrations were “flagged” that they could vote in the General Election with “challenge” ballots, which are generally cast on paper, put aside, and not counted until the discrepancies are sorted out.

The court also ruled that no voters could be removed from voter rolls unless a voter admits in writing that he or she is not eligible to vote.

In May, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Loretta King sent a letter to Baker that said the state failed to show the verification process did not have a discriminatory effect on minority voters.

Handel argued Wednesday that the state needs these verification processes to ensure there is no foul play in elections.

“It is absolutely critical that Georgia protects the integrity of its voter registration rolls by having a mechanism to verify the identification and eligibility of applicants to participate in our elections,” Secretary Handel said Wednesday. “We also look forward to utilizing these common sense processes that give the State the ability to verify the identity and citizenship status of applicants who previously indicated to DDS that they were not U.S. citizens.”