Georgia moves toward modern-day poll tax

In a blatantly political move that would disenfranchise voters, the GOP-led Georgia Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would require photo identification of voters at the polls. According to Morris News Service, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue plans to sign the bill.

Last year, a federal judge blocked a similar measure because he "thought the ID requirement was equivalent to an unconstitutional poll tax since the law required voters to pay $35 for a state-issued photo ID," according to reports. The newly-passed version of the bill, which proponents claim is needed to ensure election security, gets past the judge's ruling by making photo IDs available for free to voters without driver's licenses or other forms of photo identification.

But in our view, the soon-to-be-signed measure is still highly regressive because it would chill voter participation at the polls and erect newfangled barriers to voting. In a participatory democracy, new barriers amount to a step back toward the days of Jim Crow, not a step forward.

According to an editorial in the Savannah Morning News:

Just because the Georgia Senate made a bad bill better doesn't mean the legislation is good. Indeed, despite necessary revisions to the controversial measure to require voters to show proof of identification at Election Day polls, the fact remains that the bill is a solution in search of a problem - while failing to address genuine deficiencies in election law.

Part of the mission of the Center for a Better South is to rethink participation to include more people in democratic decisions.