Justices Agree To Review State Voter ID Laws

WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take on the politically divisive issue of whether state voter ID laws are constitutional.

The justices will review the 7th Circuit's 2-1 vote upholding an Indiana law requiring voters to show a specific kind of photo identification, such as a driver's license, before casting a ballot.

The issue often creates rifts along party lines, with proponents on the right and opponents on the left.

"It is exceedingly difficult to maneuver in today's America without a photo ID (try flying, or even entering a tall building such as the courthouse in which we sit, without one)," wrote Judge Richard Posner, a Ronald Reagan appointee. Posner ruled that Indiana's law did not place an unconstitutional burden on voters.

Judge Terence Evans, a Bill Clinton appointee, dissented. "Let's not beat around the bush: The Indiana voter photo ID law is a not-too-thinly veiled attempt to discourage election-day turnout by certain folks believed to skew Democratic," he wrote.

Indiana's Republican-led Legislature passed the voter ID law in 2005.

Arguments are scheduled to begin Jan. 9.

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