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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Court Overturns Photo ID, Voter Registration Ruling

NEW ORLEANS (CN) - In a ruling that put the Mississippi Democratic Party, the state NAACP and state officials out of their "litigation misery," the 5th Circuit overturned an injunction that would have required voters to register by political party and show photo ID at the polls.

At the Democratic Party's urging, the district court struck down a semi-closed primary law as unconstitutional, but then issued a sweeping injunction that "spawned a free-for-all on appeal," Judge Jones wrote.

The Democratic Party and the state Democratic Executive Committee cross-appealed the mandatory photo ID requirement. The NAACP and the Mississippi Republican Executive Committee intervened, challenging other portions of the injunction. But the state remained split, with Attorney General Jim Hood arguing for dismissal, and Gov. Haley Barbour and the secretary of the state supporting the photo ID requirement.

"We will put the parties out of their litigation misery," Jones wrote. The court said the plaintiffs failed to show evidence of an actual case or controversy, and concluded that the district court should not have addressed their claims.

"It is ironic that the MSDP now appeals the sweeping remedy imposed by the district court, even after the court followed the party's wishes" and struck down the primary law, Jones added.

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