State's highest court to referee voting dispute

[Judi Lynn]

State's highest court to referee voting dispute
Issue is over photo identification at polls
April 26, 2006
By DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to referee the highly partisan dispute over whether state voters can be asked for photo identification under a law approved nearly 10 years ago that has never gone into effect.

In an order issued Wednesday, a divided court said it will issue an advisory opinion on whether the photo ID provisions of the law are constitutional, and invited arguments from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and the two major political parties.

The five Republican-nominated judges on the court approved the order; the two Democrat-nominated judges opposed it. The photo ID requirement was approved by Republican majorities in the Legislature and Gov. John Engler in 1996, but never went into effect after then-Attorney General Frank Kelley, a Democrat, said it was unconstitutional.

Republicans long have argued the ID requirement is necessary to ensure the integrity of elections. Democrats claim that asking for identification is a barrier to voting for poor and elderly people, many of whom do not posses a driver's license or state ID card.
(snip/...)

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/NEWS11/60426015