Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Local voter ID lawsuit dismissed

Plaintiffs will await Supreme Court ruling in similar case from Chaves County

Lisa J. Tabet El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

    The voter identification lawsuit filed last Thursday against Socorro County Clerk Audrey Jaramillo was dismissed Tuesday morning.

    Attorney Mary T. Torres, who represents the plaintiffs in the case, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit since a similar case is being heard in the New Mexico Supreme Court next week, and a decision will be issued at that point. The Socorro County case was dismissed "with prejudice," which means it cannot be refiled.

    The lawsuit sought to force Jaramillo to require identification from people registering to vote for the first time or to note on voter rolls that first-timers who registered other than in person had to show identification when they showed up to vote.

    The case being heard by the New Mexico Supreme Court involves Chaves County.

    Last Thursday, the state Supreme Court ordered the Chaves County clerk to "stop applying a broader voter identification requirement until the matter is resolved in court."

    Both the plaintiffs and the defendant in the Socorro County Clerk's lawsuit agreed to await the Supreme Courts decision, which would be binding on all counties.

    On Monday, Mary Josephine Gosiak, of Socorro, filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit against Jaramillo. According to the intervention, "Ms. Gosiak wishes to register to vote, and to vote without being subjected to discriminatory treatment, including illegal identification requirements, simply because she is registering to vote for the first time."

    In the motion to intervene, Gosiak said she did not have an acceptable form of identification, but should not be denied the right to register or vote because of that.

    Attorney James Scarantino represents Gosiak.

    Scarantino said the plaintiffs are trying to single out newly registered voters. "If the Republicans get their way, new voters will not be allowed to vote without specific forms of identification," Scarantino said.

    Scarantino said the plaintiffs want to make it harder for new voters to vote by requiring more than one form of identification.

    "You would think we want to encourage people to vote, not make it harder," said Scarantino.

    Delilah Walsh, one of the plaintiffs, said she is glad the state decided to hear a similar case in the Supreme Court.

    "I hope it has a positive impact on voter identification requirements," she said.

    In the same vein, Clerk Audrey Jaramillo said she is pleased with the decision.

    "Hopefully now, the Supreme Court can decide what all county clerks in the state should do," she said.

    Jaramillo said she thinks the Secretary of State should interpret the law and direct the county clerks.

    "For me, this was not a partisan issue. It was an issue of chain of command and process of law," she said.

    Damacio Lopez attended the hearing as a concerned citizen.

    "The people that brought this lawsuit are trying to confuse citizens in the state by requiring these proofs of identification," he said. "Citizens in the community are outraged. There are people spilling their blood in Iraq for this right."

    Lopez is a registered member of the Green Party. He said he wants people to know that this issue isn't just about the Republicans and the Democrats.

    Amy Patterson also attended the hearing. She said the issue was especially important to her because she is a Tech student from out-of-state, who recently got married. Her name is different on her driver's license, and she no longer lives at the same address. As a new voter, she worries that she might be prevented from voting because of these circumstances.

    The hearing at the state Supreme Court will be held Sept. 27, 1:30 p.m., in Santa Fe.

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