[JURIST] Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel [official profile] said Tuesday that Georgia's controversial voter ID law [text; JURIST news archive] will begin to be enforced during Georgia's September 18 Special Elections. Handel also said that the state is filing a motion to lift a stay [press release] of proceedings in a federal challenge [JURIST report], which had been stayed pending a ruling from the Supreme Court of Georgia. Supporters of the law say it is necessary to reduce voter fraud, while critics allege that it will have a negative impact on the turnout of poor, elderly, and minority voters because they are statistically less likely to have driver's licenses.

In June, the Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a challenge [JURIST report] after finding that the plaintiff lacked standing [opinion, PDF] because she had not and could not be harmed by the voter ID law. The court's decision came in the appeal of a September 2006 superior court ruling that the controversial law was not required under the Georgia constitution [text, PDF] and would disenfranchise otherwise qualified voters [JURIST report], who generally have no use for a state-issued ID [GA DDS information]. AP has more.