Georgia... Georgia...

23 of Georgia's 159 counties held elections Tuesday, and voters were required to show photo ID. The process went smoothly.

Georgia's first voter ID law was struck down, but a federal district judge recently upheld the second such law, clearing the way for its implementaion on Tuesday. Any voter who is without a photo ID is allowed to cast a provisional ballot. The voter then has 48 hours to furnish the proper ID in order to have his or her vote count.

A state-issued photo ID is available free to any voter who lacks a photo ID. This card has "For Voting Only" printed on it, but some Georgians have nevertheless used it for check-cashing purposes.

A Wall Street Journal editorial mistakenly included Mississippi in a list of states whose photo voter ID laws have been upheld by courts.

The Mississippi legislature has never enacted voter ID, despite efforts going back to 1995.

U. S. District Judge Allen Pepper, in declaring our state-mandated open primary unconstitutional, also ordered voter ID and party registration. This is the first time a court has ordered a state to enact voter ID or party registration, and both items are among the four appeals to the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.

The case involving Indiana's photo voter ID law is the one that bears watching. The federal appeals court upheld the law, and the Indiana Democratic Party and the ACLU have appealed. The U. S. Supreme Court will consider at its September 24 conference whether to review this case.

The plaintiffs in the Georgia case may be waiting to see whether the Supreme Court agrees to hear the Indiana case before deciding if they will appeal.