Description of Settlement Talks in Voter ID Case Filed in Court

Just before the election last year, a federal lawsuit challenging provisions of the new voter identification law was filed against the Secretary of State on behalf of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, NEOCH v. Brunner, No. C2-06-896 (S.D. Ohio). After vigorous advocacy in court, the elections were conducted under procedures set out in a temporary consent decree agreed between the parties.

With Democrat Jennifer Brunner having won election to the post of Secretary of State to replace Ken Blackwell, one might think that the consent decree would simply be made permanent by general agreement and the litigation would be over. What has happened instead is that the new Secretary of State issued a directive about voter identification procedures [.pdf format], which is mostly but not completely in accord with the consent decree, and the litigation is ongoing. When I called the Secretary of State's office to inquire about the status of the case, I was referred to the directive and told that since the matter was in litigation her spokesperson could not otherwise comment.

Yesterday, pursuant to an order of the court, counsel for the plaintiff filed a letter brief describing the amendments to the directive that the plaintiffs request in order to resolve the remaining issues in the case. A copy of the letter is available here [.pdf].

In brief, the plaintiff's attorneys want the directive to be amended to provide that voters who give the wrong number from their driver's license can later correct it by telephone as well as in person; that certain photo identification be accepted with a former as well as a current address; that absentee or in-person early voters can vote based on social security or drivers license number rather than other forms of identification; that persons who have social security numbers but no acceptable form of identification be allowed to vote by provisional ballot based on providing the last four digits or filling out an affidavit; and that county boards of election make weekly reports to the Secretary of State about instances of voter identification deemed not in compliance. They also want the Secretary of State to agree to issue acceptable identification to homeless citizens without charge when they otherwise lack the required types of ID, and to clarify ambiguous and contradictory language in the complicated statutory provisions regulating provisional ballots.

Voter ID requirements are an extremely critical issue for fair and free elections. The constitutional right to vote, and getting fair and accurate results in elections generally, hinge on making these procedures efficient, workable, and as non-restrictive as possible.