Wednesday, October 22, 2008

More voting problems

Voting rights groups are trying to stop Georgia elections officials from screening new voters by asking them to prove their identities and citizenship.
Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Stanley Birch has asked the voting groups, the state and the federal government to hammer out a compromise during a long lunch break.
The groups asked a three-judge federal panel Wednesday to stop Secretary of State Karen Handel from matching new voter applications with driver's license and Social Security data.
It comes days after a federal judge rejected their claims.
District Judge Jack Camp said he worried that halting the screenings could lead to "significant voter confusion" before the November 4 election. But he noted the groups still had the option to appeal to the three-judge panel.