NYT/Reuters: Court Blocks Arizona Voter ID Law Enforcement
By REUTERS
Published: October 5, 2006
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked an Arizona state law requiring voters to present identification at polling stations and proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an emergency motion by opponents of the law for an injunction to prevent the law's voter identification requirements from taking effect for the November 7 elections.
The ruling by the San Francisco-based court also denied enforcement of a measure requiring voters to produce proof of citizenship to register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the election is next Monday.
The law became effective two years ago under Proposition 200, a measure passed by voters to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. It required people to produce proof of citizenship, such as a passport, to register to vote, and picture ID, such as a driver's license, or two pieces of nonphoto ID, in order to cast a ballot....
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Opponents of the Arizona law said it discriminated against minorities and the poor, who might not have funds to obtain the necessary proof of identification....
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-court-voting.html