Obama calls voter ID ruling 'wrong'
Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008 6:27 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Obama said he was disappointed today in the new Supreme Court decision that has upheld Indiana's voter ID law, calling it "wrong," and emphasizing that the law could suppress turnout among minorities and poorer voters.
"I am disappointed by today's Supreme Court decision upholding Indiana's photo identification law -- one of the most restrictive in the nation," Obama said in a written statement.
He referenced his decision to file an amicus brief when Indiana's voter ID law was first challenged, saying he did it because he believed that "it places an unfair burden on Indiana residents who are poor, elderly, disabled, or members of minority groups."
Obama pledged to ensure that all voters have "unfettered access to the polls" on May 6th, and added that he was "encouraged that the Court has not complete closed the door to future challenges to state voter ID laws that create discriminatory barriers to the right to vote."
In a 6-3 decision today, the Supreme Court said that Indiana's requirement that voters show a form of identification at the polls is not unconstitutional. Opponents of the law argued that the law placed a burden on the right to vote and would depress turnout among poor, elderly, minority and disabled voters at the polls.
Clinton's Indiana state director, Robbie Mook, when asked about the law, avoided any comment on the decision, only saying: "Our top priority is that every vote will be cast and counted." He added that the campaign would act according to the law and was encouraging its supporters to vote absentee and vote early.
