US Voter ID Litigation

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April 22, 2005: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signs a bill that would require voters to show photo identification before being allowed to cast ballots.

May 26, 2005: The National Conference of State Legislatures, a body which tracks state law developments, finds that 26 states are considering new proposals for voting laws. The most important issue under review in many states is proof of identity for valid voters.

August 26, 2005: The US Department of Justice grants approval to a Georgia law that would require photo identification to vote in elections.

September 2, 2005: The ACLU charges that Georgia raised the fees for its new controversial voter ID cards without notice to the US Justice Department as required under federal law.

September 20, 2005: Several rights groups and two African-American registered Georgia voters file a lawsuit challenging a Georgia law that requires voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls.

October 18, 2005: A US District Court judge in Northern Georgia grants a temporary injunction against the enforcement of a Georgia law that requires voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.

October 27, 2005: The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denies a request from Georgia to throw out a lower court injunction barring enforcement of the state's new voter identification law.

November 17, 2005: Lawyers from the US Department of Justice recommend that the department reject Georgia's new voter-identification law, but are overruled by higher-ranking DOJ officials, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post.

January 25, 2006: The Republican majority in the Georgia legislature pushes through a revised voter ID bill which would require all voters to show either a driver's license, military ID, or state-issued identification card with a photo prior to voting.

February 9, 2006: The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit instructs a lower court to reconsider a challenge to Georgia's controversial voter ID law, but leaves in place an injunction barring the law's enforcement.

February 21, 2006: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says he will veto House Bill 1318, a bill that would require voters to provide identification at the polls in order to vote.

March 30, 2006: Civil rights, religious, and community groups ask the US Department of Justice to block a law that would require voters in Georgia to show photo identification before they could cast their ballots.

April 15, 2006: US District Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the Southern District of Indiana issues an opinion upholding a 2005 law enacted by the Indiana General Assembly that requires most voters to present a valid, government-issued photo identification card when they head to the polls.

April 21, 2006: The US Department of Justice signs off on a new Georgia law that will require voters to present a valid photo ID when they vote in elections.

June 20, 2006: The US District Court for the District of Arizona rejects a bid by Latino and voter-advocacy groups to temporarily halt a requirement that voters show government-issued identification to prove that they are US citizens when they register to vote.

July 5, 2006: Georgia's latest attempt to implement photo identification cards for voters is challenged by the ACLU and other voting rights advocates, who file a motion in federal district court seeking a preliminary injunction.

July 7, 2006: Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland of Fulton County Superior Court issues a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of Georgia's photo identification cards for voters, holding that the authorizing bill violates the state constitution by placing an undue burden on the fundamental right to vote and that it would require a state constitutional amendment to legally take effect.

July 10, 2006: Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker files an emergency appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of Governor Sonny Perdue, asking the court to overturn a lower court judge's decision to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of a law requiring Georgia voters to produce photo identification cards.

July 12, 2006: US District Judge Harold Murphy issues a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Georgia's voter ID law until a full trial can be held in a challenge brought by civil rights groups.

July 17, 2006: Democratic Party officials in Missouri file a class-action lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction against the enforcement of a new state law that requires voters to show photo identification at the polls.

August 3, 2006: A group of Missouri voters lacking acceptable identification under a Missouri law that requires voters to show photo IDs at the polls files a lawsuit claiming the law could keep people from the polls in November.

September 14, 2006: A Missouri judge rules that a state law requiring voters to show a Missouri-issued photo identification at the polls violates the state constitution because it is "an impermissible additional qualification to vote."

September 19, 2006: Georgia State Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. holds that the controversial voter ID law is unconstitutional because it is not required under the Georgia constitution and would disenfranchise otherwise qualified voters.

September 20, 2006: The US House of Representatives passes a bill that would require voters to present valid photo ID cards when they head to the polls to vote in federal elections starting in 2008, thereby amending the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

October 4, 2006: The Supreme Court of Missouri hears oral arguments in two appeals challenging the September 14 ruling that a state law requiring voters to show a Missouri-issued photo identification at the polls violates the state constitution.

October 6, 2006: The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit grants an emergency injunction suspending the application of Arizona's controversial voter ID law a month before the November 7 general election.

October 11, 2006: The US Election Assistance Commission finds little evidence to support claims of voter fraud which have been driving the recent push for more stringent voter registration and voter ID policies, USA Today reports.

October 16, 2006: The Supreme Court of Missouri affirms a trial court decision striking down a state law requiring voters to show Missouri-issued photo identification at the polls.

October 18, 2006: Judge Richard Posner of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit expresses skepticism that an Indiana law requiring voters to show ID cards at the polls would prevent some citizens from casting ballots.

October 20, 2006: The US Supreme Court rules that Arizona can enforce a new law requiring voters to show government-issued ID cards at the polls for the November elections, reversing a decision rendered earlier by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

October 26, 2006: US District Judge Algenon Marbley grants a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of Ohio's voter ID law as it applies to absentee ballots because Ohio's 88 counties are applying it inconsistently.

October 29, 2006: Absentee Ohio voters must continue to show proof of ID when casting ballots after a federal appeals court stays a lower court order that would have temporarily suspended Ohio's voter ID law.

November 1, 2006: Although Ohio absentee voters must continue to show proof of ID when applying for an absentee ballot, absentee ballots already obtained without ID will still be counted after a settlement is reached between the state and groups opposed to Ohio's voter ID law.

January 4, 2007: The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upholds an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.

April 21, 2007: The Ninth Circuit Court holds that AZ may enforce Prop 200 while a non-profit organization challenges the law in federal court.

June 11, 2007: The Supreme Court of GA dismisses a challenge to GA's voter ID law for lack of standing.

July 18, 2007: The MI Supreme Court upholds a voter ID law in a 5-2 decision.

July 31, 2007: GA Secretary of State Karen Handel says that GA's voter ID law will begin to be enforced during GA's September Special Elections and the state will be filing a motion to lift a stay of proceedings in a federal challenge.

August 30, 2007: Judge Roslyn Silver rejects claims challenging AZ's voter ID law filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), ruling that the fees associated with procuring the required documents did not amount to a fee to vote.

September 7, 2007: US District Judge Harold Murphy lifts a stay of the GA voter ID law, enabling the law to go into effect during Special Elections on September 18.

January 9, 2008: The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in consolidated cases regarding the constitutionality of IA's voter ID statute.

April 28, 2008: The US Supreme Court upholds IN's voter ID statute, which requires voters to present photo identification as a prerequisite to voting.