The New York Times reports that the Supreme Court has just handed down an opinion upholding Indiana’s 2005 voter-identification law. With only eight days remaining until the Indiana primary, the ruling denies claims that requiring voters to produce photo identification presents undue obstacles to specific groups of potential voters, such as the elderly, who are less likely to posses the prescribed types of identification. As the Indiana law is considered the most stringent of its kind, the 6-to-3 ruling seems to indicate that voter-identification laws in other states would also be deemed constitutional by the court.
The majority opinion, written by Justice John Paul Stevens joined by Chief John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy, acknowledged, but ultimately dismissed, arguments that the law, by placing burdens on potential voters in demographic segments typically allied with the Democratic party, worked in favor of Republicans. A case brought by an individual who could show that the law had prevented their vote from being cast, the opinion suggests, could produce a different decision from the court.
In a concurring opinion, Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. affirmed their belief in the constitutionality of the Indiana law without suggesting the possibility of an alternate outcome in a specific case.
The dissenting opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and joined by Stephen Breyer and David Souter expressed concern that the law would, for many of the state’s citizens, associate too great of a burden with the right to vote.
Senator Charles Schumer is quoted in the New York Times, saying “This decision is a body blow to what America stands for — equal access to the polls.”
The opinion in full is available here (pdf)
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