As I was pondering the battle in Oregon over the Ralph Nader petition signatures, a friend from my bright college days told me of a different battle going on in New Mexico, where the secretary of state told county clerks not to ask for identification from first-time voters who had registered by mail. A multi-party group of plaintiffs challenged the secretary of state's order as being contrary to state law. One of the plaintiffs is the father of a 13-year-old who had successfully registered to vote. I couldn't find a link, so here is the gist of the story, from the Associated Press:
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August 27, 2004
Judge Orders IDs For Some First-Time Voters
The Associated Press
New Mexicans who registered to vote through a third party without showing identification will have to prove their identity when they vote, a state district judge ruled Friday.
State District Judge Robert L. Thompson issued a temporary restraining order challenging the way the secretary of state interpreted a law requiring identification for certain people registering to vote for the first time.
"We're all finding that every vote counts," Thompson said.
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Albuquerque attorney Pat Rogers, who filed the lawsuit along with attorneys David Garcia and Joe Thompson, a Republican state representative, said the order primarily affects people registered to vote for the first time by third-party groups.
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The restraining order is the first step in a lawsuit filed Aug. 20 seeking to force the secretary of state to require such first-time voters to present identification either when registering or when voting.
Those suing contend the Legislature mandated that procedure.
Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron disagreed. She had instructed the Bernalillo County clerk not to ask for identification from such newly registered voters.
She has contended the requirement applies only to mail-in registrations and a postpaid mail-in format.
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State law says that if a voter registering for the first time does not apply in person, "the applicant must submit with the form a copy of a current and valid photo identification, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and address of the applicant. If the applicant does not submit the required identification, he will be required to do so when he votes in person or absentee."
Attached to the court filing are memos from Bureau of Elections director Denise Lamb advising clerks the identification requirements affect only first-time voters who register by mail.
Chaves County Clerk Dave Kunko of Roswell, a Republican, wrote other county clerks this month that all first-time voters in that county who did not register in his office must prove their identity at their polling places or beforehand.
Lamb advised him that was illegal and told county clerks it also was contrary to the federal Help America Vote Act.
Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera said Friday her office has received 78,000 new voter registrations this year, and 3,000 have problems which make them invalid — faulty addresses, no addresses, bad signatures or no Social Security numbers. Some 400 cards were returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable.
She has said many registrations were being turned in for voters who already registered. People were being told, falsely, that the county lost part of its database and they had to register again, she said.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Republican Rep. Larry Larranaga of Albuquerque; Green Party candidate for Bernalillo County clerk Steve Cabiedes; Deborah Torza, Republican candidate for House District 16; Carla Gonzales, a Santa Fe County Democrat; Toby Gutierrez, identified as a newly registered voter; and Juan Paul Atencio Jr., not otherwise identified. They later were joined by the father of an Albuquerque 13-year-old who was registered to vote.