Earlier this week, a memo was leaked to the Washington Post newspaper alleging that, despite the recommendation from Department of Justice attorneys to reject Georgia’s voter-identification law, the Department pre-cleared the legislation anyway. Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Georgia is one of a handful of states that still must endure Department of Justice scrutiny whenever we alter our voting laws in any way.

As the legislator who originally introduced and shepherded the photo ID legislation through the Senate, I am deeply offended that anyone would suggest or imply that the motivation for this law was racism. What we originally proposed in Senate Bill 84, which was rolled into House Bill 244, was to eliminate as much voter fraud as possible, so that the votes of all Georgians are protected.

Georgia has had a voter identification law since 1997. What my legislation did was tighten the requirements to further protect the sanctity of our voting process, by requiring one of six documents – a Georgia driver’s license, a photo ID issued by the federal, state, or local government, a U.S. passport, an employee photo issued by a local, state, or federal government, a military photo ID or a tribal photo ID – when entering the polls. All in all, the new law is actually quite permissive, since there is no requirement that the identification card used must be issued by the State of Georgia, or even contain a current address.

Since the comprehensive elections bill passed earlier this year, the true facts of the situation have been misrepresented, misinterpreted and blatantly misconstrued to the point of no repair by various special interest groups and others. This legislation is not about keeping people from voting. Quite the contrary. We encourage all Georgians, who are legally able, to do so. More importantly, we want to make sure that no one is voting in their stead and taking away their ability to cast a vote for the candidate of their choice.

It is unfortunate, but in our state, there has been ample proof of voter fraud over the years. It is incredulous to me that any elected official in Georgia would say there is no evidence that dead people continue to vote. In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story in 2000, research showed that more than 5,400 votes had been cast in the name of deceased individuals in Georgia since 1980. Additionally, the story pointed out that more than 15,000 dead people remained on the active voting rolls. That is despicable! The people of Iraq are fingerprinted in order to vote – all we are asking is that your show proof that you are who you say you are. I don’t think that is too much to ask.

One of the primary allegations of those opposing this law is that African American citizens in Georgia are less likely than whites to have the requisite photo ID because they are less likely to own automobiles or for some reason or another cannot obtain a state ID. Facts will show that the African Americans in this state are more likely than white citizens to possess one of the required IDs. Furthermore, statistics show that the number of voter eligible people is almost identical to the number of people who have one or more of the necessary forms of identification. Other states with large minority populations – including Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Virginia – have similar identification requirements similar to ours, yet there has been no negative effect on minority voter turnout in those states.

It is my plan to return to the State Capitol in January and address the concerns of the current law. I reaffirm my desire to see the voters of Georgia with the best system of voting in the nation and to further insure the future integrity of the voting process in our state.

Sen. Cecil Staton of the 18th Senate District may be reached at 404.656.5039. He represents portions of Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties.