<p>A controversial voter identification bill that prompted most of Georgia's black lawmakers to walk out at the state Capitol is now law.</p><p>Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law Friday a bill narrowing the accepted forms of voter identification so that only photo IDs can be used. Currently, voters without a photo ID can use a Social Security card, birth certificate or utility bill at the polls.</p><p>"This is a common sense ballot safeguard," Perdue said after signing the bill.</p><p>The changes will not take effect until the U.S. Department of Justice signs off on the new law. Georgia, like other states with a history of suppressing minority votes, must get federal permission for changes in voting requirements.</p><p>Less than an hour after the bill was signed, black lawmakers vowed a lawsuit if the requirement is approved by the Justice Department.</p><p>"We think this a terrible, terrible precedent for the nation," said state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta and chairman of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, which has already prepared an objection to the law to send to the federal government.</p><p>The Republican-backed measure sparked racial tensions during the legislative session. Democrats argued the idea was a political move by the GOP to depress voting among minorities, the elderly and the poor _ all traditional bases for Democrats.</p><p>Black lawmakers stormed out of the House and Senate the night the bill was approved. Some sang a civil rights era protest song so loudly that business had to be stopped.</p><p>Later they held rallies decrying the measure.</p><p>Earlier this month, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, publicly called on Perdue to veto the bill.</p><p>"Despite the gains we've made toward achieving racial equality, racism still exists," she said.</p><p>But Perdue, like other Republicans, said the bill was aimed at preventing voter fraud, not hurting poor voters. The governor pointed out Friday that state IDs would be given free to people who couldn't afford the fee or said they planned to use the ID to vote.</p><p>"I believe this is a reasonable requirement," he said. "It will not be a hardship on any voter."</p><p>Nineteen states require voters to show identification, but only five request photo ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Those states _ Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota _ allow voters without a photo ID to use other forms of identification or sign an affidavit of identity.</p><p>The new Georgia law also allows people to vote absentee without an excuse, and for a longer period. Those votes by mail would not require a picture ID.</p><p>Opponents of the Georgia measure said the picture ID requirement isn't needed, and that the longer absentee period could encourage fraud.</p><p>"This legislation is entirely contrary to the mission of (getting) more citizens participating in democracy," said Meg Smothers, executive director of the Georgia League of Women Voters.</p><p>Senior citizen groups also fought the change, saying some elderly voters haven't driven in years and have no way to get to a state office for a picture ID.</p><p>"It's going to be a hardship," said Bill Brown, spokesman for the Georgia AARP, which estimated that more than 150,000 people over 60 voted in the 2004 election with no photo ID.</p><p>Brown, like the black caucus, insisted there isn't a problem with fake IDs being shown and questioned the GOP's motives.</p><p>"You've got to wonder what else is at work here," Brown said.</p><p>Already, Democrats are working to make the voting ID change a liability for Republicans in 2006, when Perdue runs for re-election.</p><p>Two announced Democratic rivals for Perdue's job _ Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox _ have shown up at rallies against the idea.</p><p>"It's really sad that Georgia is putting up more barriers to voting when we should be knocking them down," said Kristi Huller, a spokeswoman for Taylor, after the bill was signed.</p><p>If the law passes federal muster, the photo ID requirement would first be used in this fall's municipal elections, which include a race for Atlanta mayor.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1d0f000)</p>
