Secretary of State Kemp Announces Victory for Georgia’s Election Security

Atlanta – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today announced that the Georgia Supreme Court ruled (Democratic Party of Georgia, Inc. v. Perdue et al.), by a 6-1 vote, to uphold the state’s successful photo ID law for in-person voting. 

“Today’s ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court to uphold our photo ID law for in-person voting is a victory for our state’s election security. Photo ID plays a vital role in ensuring that no vote cast by an eligible Georgian is erased by a fraudulent ballot,” said Secretary Kemp. “As Georgia’s Chief Elections Officer, I will continue to fight any attempts by opponents of our common sense election laws to weaken the integrity of our elections processes.”

Last week, Secretary Kemp testified about numerous aspects of Georgia’s photo ID law before the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Voter Identification and 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. Georgia’s photo ID law has now 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.

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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