Tennessee Judge Hears Voter ID Debate

A federal judge in Nashville will hold a hearing today before Thursday's statewide elections in a lawsuit filed by the City of Memphis over the issue of allowing voters to use library photo ID cards for voting purposes. U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger will consider the city's second request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from blocking the use of the library cards. The Commercial Appeal reports Trauger wants the plaintiffs, a Memphis registered voter and the City of Memphis, to provide information for the hearing, including the library's rules for issuing their photo ID cards. State election officials said the cards do not meet the standards set by the voter ID law passed by the General Assembly last year.