An Arkansas judge on Friday again found the state’s new voter ID law to be unconstitutional but said there wasn’t enough time to prohibit officials from enforcing it during this month’s primary election. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled that the law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot violates the Arkansas Constitution. But Fox stayed his order, saying he did not believe there was time to stop the state from using the law for the May 20 primary because early voting is set to begin Monday. “I’m not going to throw thousands of precincts into turmoil,” Fox told attorneys at the end of an hour-long hearing. Fox struck down the law in a separate case last week, but the state Supreme Court stayed that ruling while it considers an appeal of the decision. A spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office said he planned to appeal Fox’s latest ruling against the law as well.
The law, which took effect Jan. 1, was used in some local elections earlier this year, but it will be used statewide for the first time during this month’s primary. Opponents said they were pleased with the ruling, even though the requirement will remain in place for now.
“We can’t lose sight of the fact that court ruled it on its face unconstitutional … I think that is what we should focus on,” said Jeff Priebe, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued the state over the law.
The ruling comes as voter ID laws are being challenged throughout the nation. Though 31 states have laws in effect requiring voters to show some form of identification, Arkansas’ in one of the strictest in the nation. Seven other states have photo ID requirements in effect similar to Arkansas.
Full Article: Voter ID law in Arkansas again found unconstitutional | OregonLive.com.