LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Democratic Party, the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and the Democratic caucuses in the state House and Senate filed a friend-of-the-court brief Tuesday in a case that could decide whether Michigan can require voters to show photo identification at the polls. The Michigan Supreme Court in April voted 5-2 to issue an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of a 1997 state law requiring voters to show photo identification to get a ballot. A court spokeswoman said the ruling will be binding, although it could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.Former Attorney General Frank Kelley, a Democrat, issued an opinion nine years ago that the law violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees U.S. citizens the right to vote. Opponents of the law say the requirement would keep poor people, non-drivers and others away from the polls. They cite figures showing that about 370,000 of the state's registered voters do not have a driver's license or state ID card.
But supporters say the law is needed to prevent election fraud. The U.S. Justice Department, for example, has been investigating allegations that Detroit votes were cast last year in the names of dead people. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis supports the requirement, noting that Indiana recently began requiring photo ID. Although Democrats in that state are challenging the law and say they received hundreds of complaints about the new requirement, Anuzis said that can largely be chalked up to the learning curve. "From the things that I read, apparently things went very well. There weren't any hitches," he said.