A small victory was won last week for opponents of voter ID laws when a judge struck down an Arkansas law requiring voters to show state-issued photo identification at the polls.
Pulaski County judge Tim Fox ruled the law unconstitutional, stating that it “illegally adds a requirement voters must fulfill before going to the polls.” There have been concerns regarding those who submit absentee ballots and how this piece of legislation would affect their voting process. After an extensive review, judge Fox concluded that the law was officially "void and unenforceable."
The next day, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel filed a notice of appeal. With early voting for the state's May 20th primary beginning May 5th, the race is on to get things sorted out - and voter confusion could prevail.
The law went into effect on January 1st. Prior to that, voters were asked to show ID at the polls but would not be turned away if they failed to do so. Under the new law, voters without ID would be able to vote by provisional ballot and be required to show ID at county election offices within six days.