Secretary of State Kemp to Fight Democratic Party of Georgia in State Supreme Court to Protect Photo ID Law

Atlanta – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that he will continue to fight the Democratic Party of Georgia’s (DPG) efforts to overturn the state’s common sense photo ID law, this time defending the DPG’s appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia. In April, the Fulton County Superior Court denied the DPG’s challenge to Georgia’s photo ID requirement for in-person voting, and upheld the law’s constitutionality. The DPG has appealed this ruling to the State Supreme Court.

For four years, Georgia’s photo ID law has withstood challenges in Fulton County Superior Court, U.S. District Court, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Secretary Kemp said, “As Georgia’s Chief Elections Officer, I will fight this attempt by the Democratic Party of Georgia to tear down the common sense laws that protect the security of our elections process. Georgia’s photo ID law helps to ensure that no vote is cancelled out due to voter fraud.”

Georgia voters are required to show one of the following six forms of photo ID when voting in-person:

• A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired;
• Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS);
• Valid U.S. passport;
• Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
• Valid U.S. military photo ID; or
• Valid tribal photo ID.

Voters who do not have one of these forms of photo identification can obtain a free voter ID card at their county registrars’ office or any office of the Georgia Department of Driver Services. A Georgia voter who does not have an acceptable form of photo identification when voting in-person can cast a provisional ballot at the poll, and then has 48 hours to return to his or her county registrar’s office with an acceptable form of identification to have that ballot count.

Brian Kemp was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2010. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.

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