Judge Tosses Voter ID Requirement Suit

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A judge has denied an injunction in a Republican-backed lawsuit that sought to force people registering to vote for the first time to show identification.

State District Judge Robert Thompson's decision leaves the rules for registering to vote (search)  what they have been since a new state law on identification went into effect in July 2003.

Thompson last month issued a temporary restraining order (search)  that required more first-time voters to show identification.

But he delayed it from going into effect pending the outcome of the hearing.

He heard a third day of testimony today.

The lawsuit contends all first-time registrants who don't register with a county clerk have to show some form of ID either at registration or at the polls.