A lawsuit that contends age discrimination was written into Tennessee’s voter identification law because it does not allow use of student IDs has stalled as a federal judge considers whether it is a valid case. Lawyers for a group of students and those for the state disagree on how to interpret the 44-year-old constitutional amendment that lowered the voting age to 18, and what impact that has on Tennessee’s law. The students say the state law, which prohibits using student identification cards to vote, is unconstitutional. Lawyers in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office asked the federal judge to dismiss the case, saying the students did not make a valid claim and their interpretation of the amendment was wrong.
U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger has stopped the lawyers from exchanging evidence or acting on subpoenas while she weighs the arguments of both sides, according to court records.
The dispute is based in part on the interpretation of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the legal voting age to 18 in 1971. The students argue the intent also was to stop age discrimination, in part because of language that says voting rights should not be denied “on account of age.”
Full Article: Tennessee seeks to dismiss voter ID lawsuit.