Ellison files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Voter ID Case

Press Release

Ellison files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Voter ID Case

On Tuesday, Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the case striking down an Indiana photo id requirement as an unconstitutional poll tax.

An amicus brief is commonly referred to as a "friend of the court" and refers to someone, not a party to the case, who volunteers information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding the matter before the court.

"In America, our right to vote is a sacred right, and a moral obligation," Ellison stated. "We must do everything that encourages, fosters and facilitates everyone's ability to exercise that right. While photo ids seem harmless, they are in fact - the modern day poll tax," Ellison said. Poll taxes were used extensively throughout the South from Reconstruction through the Jim Crow era to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Black voters. In 1964, Congress ratified the 24th Amendment which banned poll taxes.

"Advocates of voter id verification seek to minimize such a requirement today by citing the need to do so when purchasing fishing and hunting licenses, or obtaining a drivers license. But none of those actions are as fundamental as voting, which is guaranteed in the Constitution. It is first found in the 15th Amendment and then expressly underscored without any additional requirement in the 24th Amendment," Ellison stated.

Ellison filed the brief along with all 42 other Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Others filing briefs included: the Indiana League of Women Voters, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Asian American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, ACORN, the Secretaries of State of Maine, Vermont and Missouri, as well as several other notable voting rights and civil liberty advocacy groups and experts.

The case, known as Crawford vs. Marion County Election Board is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court in January, 2008.

Ellison has been extremely active in voter rights issues in the Congress. The Minneapolis Congressman has introduced two bills on voting rights - one would make election day registration nationwide and the second would prohibit states from requiring photo ids as requirement to vote in federal elections.

Same day registration has been the law in Ellison's home state of Minnesota for 34 years routinely resulting in record voter turnout (78% in 2004). The requirement for photo ids in federal elections can impose a burdensome requirement and ultimately disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of voters, particularly low-income, communities of color, senior citizens, women and young people.

Recently, the Chief of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Voting Rights Division, John Tanner confirmed this when stating: "It's probably true that among those who don't [have Photo ID], it's primarily elderly persons. And that's a shame. Of course...our society is such that minorities don't become elderly. The way that white people do. They die first."

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Law and Civil Rights, on which Ellison serves, held an oversight hearing on the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Department of DOJ. Under close questioning by Ellison and other Members of the Subcommittee, Tanner apologized for ‘the tone…and clumsiness' of his statement, but did not back away from the stereotypical statement. At the hearing, and in spite of Mr. Tanner's earlier assertion, DOJ claimed that photo id requirement in federal elections has no discriminatory impact on minorities, senior citizens or young voters.

The facts speak otherwise. According to a June 2005 University of Wisconsin Study:

* An estimated 23% of people aged 65 and over did not have a valid photo id;
* Less than half of Milwaukee County's African American and Hispanic adults did not have valid drivers license or photo identification compared to 85% of their White counterparts who did.
* For young minority adults, aged 18-24, only 26% of African American youth and 34% of Hispanic youth had a valid driver's license compared to 71% of their White counterparts who did.

"Clearly, on the key civil rights voting issue of the decade - the requirement that voters provide photo ids to vote - the Bush Administration's Voting Rights Division has intentionally turned a blind eye and allowed, if not encouraged, voter suppression of minorities, seniors and young people," the Minneapolis Congressman said.

"It is my sincere hope that the legislation I have authored, as well as the amicus brief I and others have filed will bolster the case against what I believe to be an unconstitutional poll tax in violation of the 24th Amendment," Ellison concluded.

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