Secretary of State Kemp to Testify before Texas House Committee on Georgia’s Photo ID Law for In-Person Voting

Atlanta – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that he will testify on Georgia’s successful photo ID law for in-person voting before the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud on Tuesday, March 1, 2011.

“I look forward to sharing the story of Georgia’s successful implementation of photo ID for in-person voting,” said Secretary Kemp. “We have fought too hard for many years in Georgia to guarantee and protect every citizen’s right to vote. Georgia’s photo ID law is a common sense protection which helps to ensure that no vote is cancelled out due to voter fraud.”

More than 14,630,000 votes have been cast in Georgia in 35 state and federal elections since September 2007 when photo ID was first required for in-person voting. Additionally, 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 Georgia Supreme Court.

The law requires voters who cast their ballot in person to present one of the following six forms of acceptable photo identification:

• 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 the voter’s  county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services;
• 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.

If a voter does not have a photo ID or forgets to bring their photo ID to the polls, they can still cast a provisional ballot. The voter then has until the Friday after Election Day to obtain an acceptable form of photo ID, and return to their county elections office to have their vote counted.

Secretary Kemp added, “Georgia’s elections are among the most secure in the nation due to our four levels of security testing on our touch-screen voting machines, our partnership with nationally renowned elections experts at the Kennesaw State University Center for Elections Systems, our verification process for first time registration applicants, our triple signature verification process for absentee ballots, and our photo ID requirement for in-person voting.”

Brian Kemp has been Secretary of State since 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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