Sec. of State Brewer Asked to Withdraw
Prop. 200 I.D. Procedure

Attorney General advises that State Statutes Must First be Amended

PHOENIX -- After nearly two months of work by the Secretary of State’s office to proactively implement the voter identification provision of Proposition 200 in time for the upcoming March and May elections, the State Attorney General has effectively delayed such action.

In a letter to Secretary of State Jan Brewer, Attorney General Terry Goddard acknowledged the work being done to implement Prop. 200 stating that the Secretary of State and her staff, “have been laboring mightily to implement the requirements for voter identification at the polls.” Nevertheless, Goddard’s letter went on to state: “it now appears that the statute cannot be implemented until two things happen: (1) regulations are put in place to guide poll workers regarding what is acceptable identification, and (2) State statutes are amended to allow a voter who lacks sufficient identification to vote a provisional ballot.”

Secretary of State Brewer expressed disappointment in the delay, saying, “It is extremely unfortunate that the will of the voters will not be executed in time for the upcoming elections.” Added Secretary Brewer, “My office has spent hundreds of hours since last November working with the counties and citizen community leaders to put into practice these new voting requirements.”

On January 24, 2005, the Department of Justice granted expedited pre-clearance of Proposition 200 specifically, “because of local elections scheduled for March 8 and early voting scheduled to begin on February 3, 2005.”

“I will continue to work with the State Legislature and the Attorney General to assure that Proposition 200 is implemented in a fair and lawful manner, which would respect the diversity of our great State and follow the wishes of the voters,” stated Secretary Brewer

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