Proof-of-citizenship bill for voters passes Senate

Voters would have to produce birth certificates, passports or other documents proving U.S. citizenship to register to vote under a bill that passed the Senate Tuesday.

Supporters say the bill would prevent illegal immigrants from voting in Georgia and cut down on voter fraud.

Opponents say the measure amounts to a poll tax on poor Georgians who don’t have identification papers and would have to pay money to get them.

“It’s time to take steps to make sure that noncitizens are not voting,” said bill sponsor Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon.) “We don’t know how many people have slipped between the cracks and may have voted,” he said.

County voter registrars would be required to reject any voter registration application that does not include a birth certificate, passport, naturalization document, driver’s license or other document that proves U.S. citizenship, according to Senate Bill 86.

The measure passed the Senate 34-20 and will now go to the House.

Secretary of State Karen Handel applauded the bill’s passage, saying in a statement that it will “further strengthen the integrity and confidence in our elections.”

Many African-American senators argued with passion during the floor debate that Senate Bill 86 reminds them of tactics from years past used to deny the right to vote to people of color. They lined up to speak against the bill.

“We’re harkening back to a time that many of us thought was a bygone time,” said Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).

The League of Women Voters also opposes the legislation, saying it would needlessly inconvenience U.S. citizens and discourage people from registering. The League also said citizenship documents often do not reflect an immigrant’s current name.

Right now, all people registering to vote have to swear they are a citizen, but they don’t have to prove it with paperwork.

The new procedures would take effect Jan. 1, 2010. The requirements would not apply to anyone already registered to vote in Georgia before the end of this year, so long as they remain continuously on the voter rolls.

Handel ran into opposition last fall when her office began verifying citizenship of voters.

Voting rights groups sued Handel in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to seek to halt the state’s attempt to verify the identities and citizenship of registered voters so close to the Nov. 4 election.

A federal three-judge panel later ruled that Handel could continue checking citizenship, but the system ultimately would be subject to pre-clearance by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The suit came the day after the U.S. Department of Justice said the state’s actions to verify identity and citizenship appear to violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The law requires states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to get approval from the federal government before making certain changes to voting and election policy.

The DOJ has requested more information about the program, said Matt Carrothers, a spokesman for Handel. Her office is working with the Georgia attorney general’s office to provide that information, he said.

Staton could not say how many illegal immigrants may have voted in Georgia, but he estimated it could be “hundreds.” He said the bill is modeled after an Arizona law.

Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) said the bill is not about illegal immigrants but about hindering access to the polls for poor Georgians.

“This is about the poor, the elderly, the infirm, who have a hard time getting out to vote,” Thompson said. This bill would harm their ability to vote because it would be difficult to get the proper paperwork, Thompson said.

Record-keeping in Georgia is not always what it should be, Thompson said. Others argued that births were often recorded in the family Bible, not the town hall.

Sen. Gail Buckner (D-Morrow) said many people in her district would be affected, especially the elderly, who often don’t have documents.

“The elderly see this as an affront to their honesty,” Buckner said.