Invoking the South's long history of Jim Crow-era laws designed to keep blacks from the polls, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes on Thursday asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the state's new voter ID law. Barnes said the law - which mandates that voters present a government-issued photo identification - violated Georgia's constitution, which guarantees the right to vote.But lawyers defending the law argued that to put on the brakes on at the "11th hour" would be disruptive. Free voter IDs are already being issued in Georgia and will be required of all those who vote in person in the July 18 primary, now less than two weeks away. "A restraining order at this point would throw a monkey wrench in the whole procedural apple cart that has already left the station," said lawyer Marc Cohen, arguing on behalf of the state.
Cohen said the two plaintiffs challenging the law did not have legitimate standing because each had, or could easily obtain, the ID needed to vote. Rosalind Lake still had an old student ID card from Florida International University. Photo IDs issued by other states are an acceptable form of ID under Georgia's law. Barnes said Lake did not believe the ID was still valid. The other plaintiff, Matthew Hess, had a driver's license but said it had been stolen. Cohen argued that Hess could easily obtain a new license, vote by absentee ballot or get a Georgia voter ID card. "Neither of their clients is going to be denied the opportunity to cast a ballot," Cohen said.