A federal judge in Nashville has upheld Tennessee’s voter ID law prohibiting the use of student identification cards at the polls. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger on Monday granted the state’s request to dismiss the case and upheld the law as constitutional. The students who brought the case in March wanted to use their school identification cards to vote and said the state denying them the ability to do that was age discrimination. Her ruling comes after four years of debate over Tennessee’s law but does not necessarily end discussion because the ruling could be appealed.
“This ruling reinforces the efforts of House Republicans to safeguard the integrity of the ballot box and uphold public confidence in our elections,” said Cade Cothren, House Republican Caucus spokesman. “Photo IDs are a commonplace requirement for accessing a variety of everyday items, ranging from alcohol and tobacco to hotel rooms and rental cars. Students who only have a school ID are eligible for a free state-issued identification card and, under this ruling, will continue to experience absolutely no barriers in exercising their right to vote.”
Trauger’s ruling is largely based on a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case called Crawford vs. Marion County Election Board. That case upheld Indiana’s law requiring voters to show photo identification as a constitutional way to prevent voter fraud. It also said that requiring people to get state identification cards did not create enough burden for the court to overturn the law.
Full Article: Judge dismisses TN students’ voting rights case.