ATLANTA — Georgia’s Secretary of State wants lawmakers to pass a bill that will require voters to have Real ID if they want to cast a ballot
In an exclusive interview, Brad Raffensberger told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot that the state already has the “gold standard” in election security, but he feels making Real ID, that little black star you see on the corner of your drivers’ license, mandatory to vote.
“Real ID is the ‘gold standard’ for identification. In fact, if you want to go on an airplane, you want to get into a federal office building, you have to have Real ID,” Raffensperger said. “We do a great job in Georgia, and that’s why we’re recognized for having the most secure, safe election in the entire country by many organizations. But the ‘gold standard’ is having Real ID. So I’m going to call on the General Assembly to pass Real ID this session.”
In order to get that Real ID star on your driver’s license, or state-issued license, you have to prove to the state that you are a U.S. citizen, and that requires documents such as a birth certificate or passport.
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As expected, some voting rights groups like Fair Fight Action take exception to this plan, insisting this is a solution in search of a problem.
“Coming as he runs for governor under pressure from Trump-aligned Republicans, this looks less like election policy and more like a way to appease the very extremists he built his reputation opposing,” the organization said in a statement to Elliot.
“Georgia has recognized having secure elections. It starts with a photo ID. Starts with Real ID. We just need to make sure that we keep it that way, and we need to make sure that we pass Real ID this session,” Raffensperger said.
Raffensperger is running for the Republican nomination for Governor. Another candidate is the head of the Senate, Lt. Gov. Bert Jones, so it will be interesting to see what happens.