Tennessee Court Allows State Voter ID Law

 It’s getting pretty close to the wire to still have voter ID laws unresolved.

On Thursday, a Tennessee appeals court upheld a state law that requires photo identification for voters, but expanded the range of permissible IDs to include library cards, Reuters reported. The state plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

“This is like changing the rules at halftime of a football game,” said Blake Fontenay, a spokesman for the Tennessee secretary of state . “I wouldn’t lose sight of the part of the ruling that we are very pleased with that upholds the constitutionality of the law.”

Nashville attorney George Barrett, who challenged the constitutionality of the law, said the decision was a victory for the city of Memphis, but his clients are also considering an appeal.

The challenges to voter ID laws around the country have generally been successful — at least in terms of getting through next month’s election.

Earlier this month, a judge in Pennsylvania blocked a voter ID law from taking effect this year, saying he wasn’t convinced it could be implemented without disenfranchising some. Also this month, a panel of federal judges cleared  South Carolina’s voter ID law but delayed it from taking force until 2013.

In Wisconsin, two judges blocked a photo ID requirement earlier this year, citing voting protections in the state constitution. In August, federal judge rejected a Texas Voter ID law. The Justice Department blessed Virginia’s less strict voter ID law that same month.

Four states will have strict photo ID requirements this year: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Tennessee. In these states, voters must show a valid photo ID before casting a ballot. Without one, they may cast a provisional ballot but must return within a specified period of time after the election with a valid ID in order for their ballot to be counted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In a report last year, NYU Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice said that as many as 5 million people in the U.S. could have a harder time voting in 2012 due to state laws that popped up in the wake of the 2010 midterm elections, in which Republicans took control of several state legislatures.

Democrats nationwide are steadfast in their claims that voter ID laws are intended to prevent participation from groups that support them. Republicans say laws are needed to prevent voter fraud, although there are very few documented cases of voter fraud by individual voters.

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