ACLU Accuses Georgia Over Voter ID Card

The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday alleged that Georgia circumvented a federal law by failing to get Justice Department approval before raising the fee for a controversial new voter identification card.

The governor’s office insisted that it notified the department of the change and would waive all fees for poor residents.

Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project in Atlanta, complained of the fee hike in a letter to John Tanner, chief of the department’s voting section. McDonald said state officials were selling five-year cards for $20 and 10-year cards for $35, though the Justice Department had only approved a $10 fee for four-year cards.

Dan McLagan, spokesman for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, said the state included a copy of the proposed fee increase in a package of documents it sent the Justice Department to win approval of its new law requiring photo identification at the polls.

The changes, which took effect July 1, also provide for a $5 discount for phone and Internet orders and remove the fee for the poorest residents, McLagan said. However, McDonald said prospective voters had to go through an “elaborate procedure” to get the fee waived.

Under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Georgia and other states with a history of racial discrimination must get federal approval to change their voting laws.