LITTLE ROCK — A lawsuit challenging Arkansas' new voter ID law has been filed, arguing the requirement causes the same problems as a nearly identical law that was struck down four years ago.
The lawsuit filed by a voter in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Wednesday is challenging the measure's constitutionality ahead of the state's May 22 primary. Early voting for the primary begins May 7.
Barry Haas, a Little Rock resident who is suing the state over the measure, was one of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to Arkansas' previous voter ID law being struck down in 2014. An attorney for Haas said lawmakers are trying to circumvent that ruling by amending a portion of the state's constitution dealing with voter registration.
Act 633 of 2017 requires poll workers to ask voters for photo identification before voting; those without valid identification must sign an affidavit and cast a provisional ballot, which would be certified later by county election officials.
The plaintiff is seeking an injunction barring the state from enforcing the voter ID measurement contained in Act 633 during the May primary and November general elections.
Thirty-four states have laws requiring or requesting voters show some form of voter ID at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Arkansas' new law took effect in August and has been enforced in several local elections. The May primary is the first statewide election where the measure will be enforced since it was enacted last year.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Mark Martin, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not have an immediate comment on the filing Wednesday morning.
The new law was one of two efforts approved by the Legislature last year to revive the voter ID requirement. Lawmakers also voted to put a proposed constitutional amendment imposing the requirement on the November ballot.
Arkansas' law says voters can show one of several types of photo identification, including driver's licenses, concealed handgun licenses, a U.S. passport or an ID issued by a college in the state.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Hunter Field contributed to this story.