Arkansas officials ask court to keep voter ID law in place
U.S. Courts Newsroom
Arkansas officials asked the state's highest court on Monday to allow them to enforce a voter ID law in the May 22 primary despite a judge blocking the measure and calling it unconstitutional.
Secretary of State Mark Martin asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to put on hold a Pulaski County judge's ruling preventing the state from enforcing the 2017 law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. Martin asked the high court for a ruling by noon Friday, noting that early voting for the primary begins May 7.
"Here, the trial court has changed the rules in the middle of the election," Martin's filing said. "An immediate stay is necessary; any further delay will harm the state."
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray sided with a Little Rock voter who sued the state and had argued the law enacted last year circumvents a 2014 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that struck down a previous voter ID measure.
An attorney for the Little Rock voter said he hoped the court would not halt the ruling, noting evidence that nearly 1,000 votes weren't counted in the 2014 primary because of the previous voter ID law that was struck down later that year.
"We want the votes of Arkansans to count and would hope that the Circuit Court's decision would be in effect during the upcoming primary," attorney Jeff Priebe said in an email.
Martin and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge last week appealed Gray's ruling, but the court earlier Monday set a schedule for filing briefs that wouldn't begin until June.
The revived voter ID law would require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. It's aimed at addressing an argument by some state Supreme Court justices that the 2013 law didn't receive enough votes in the Legislature to be enacted. The court's majority ruled the law violated the Arkansas Constitution by adding a new requirement to vote.
Related listings
-
Court weighs punishment for judge for courthouse affair
U.S. Courts Newsroom 04/25/2018A Massachusetts judge who engaged in sexual acts with a social worker in his chambers has damaged the public's faith in the judicial system and can no longer command the respect necessary to remain on the bench, the head of the state's Commission on ...
-
Supreme Court seems divided over Texas redistricting
U.S. Courts Newsroom 04/18/2018down as racially discriminatory.The justices heard arguments in the latest round of court action over Texas electoral districts that began in 2011.At issue are two congressional districts and statehouse districts in four counties, and what the challe...
-
Another key redistricting case goes in front of high court
U.S. Courts Newsroom 03/24/2018The Supreme Court has already heard a major case about political line-drawing that has the potential to reshape American politics. Now, before even deciding that one, the court is taking up another similar case.The arguments justices will hear Wednes...
New York Adoption, Foster Care Litigation and Family Law
Rosin Steinhagen Mendel is a law firm dedicated to serving our clients in New York City, the surrounding counties in southern New York State, and in New Jersey, in the areas of adoption, foster care litigation, and family law.
We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights, permanency hearings, custody hearings, guardianship, administrative proceedings, and adoption. Our goal is to provide each of our clients with the best possible representation in all aspects of their cases, and clients appreciate our careful analysis of individual cases, through preparation and attention to detail. For over 35 years, our attorneys have represented adoptive parents, birth parents, foster parents, children, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies. We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights, permanency hearings, custody hearings, guardianship, administrative proceedings, and adoption.
Our goal for our lawyers is to provide each of our clients with the best possible representation in all aspects of their cases, and clients appreciate our careful analysis of individual cases, through our preparation and attention to detail.