On Thursday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals deemed it permissible for voters to use photo library cards in place of state-issued photo identification.
Three judges of the court ruled unanimously in the case brought by the City of Memphis and two voters who lacked photo ID and cast provisional ballots during the August primary.
Tennessee is one of many states to pass laws requiring voters to show photo ID. The law took effect at the beginning of this year.
Memphis, which is predominantly Democrat, filed a lawsuit in July claiming that the law would disenfranchise voters who use other valid government-issued IDs to vote.
"The idea is still in question but the Tennessee Election Committee said yes, as of right now library cards with a photo are an acceptable form of identification for the Nov. 6 election," Tennessee Election Coordinator Seth Cantrell said.
Mayor A C Wharton Jr. released a statement Oct. 25 expressing gratitude that the Court of Appeals voted "yes."
The ruling came with a one-page order that tells Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins "to immediately advise the Shelby County Election Commission to accept ... photo library cards issued by the city of Memphis Public Library as acceptable 'evidence of identification.'"
Hargett appealed the provision regarding the library cards to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Goins, a Republican, said his office advised the county election commission to accept the cards following the ruling on Oct. 25.
"We continue to believe the General Assembly clearly intended for only state-federally issued photo IDs to be valid for the purpose of identifying voters and remain confident [the] Supreme Court will confirm our interpretation," Goins said.
Former Rep. Representative Debra Maggart of Hendersonville, Tenn., who sponsored the photo identification legislation, said she was encouraged that the law was ruled constitutional but was concerned the ID issued by the Memphis Public Library will not be immune to voter fraud.
Maggard said the court created an exemption for the City of Memphis that "falls below the standard for the rest of Tennessee."
"Photographic identification is probably the best way of making sure a voter is the person he or she claims to be," Judge Andy Bennett said.
College students are not the only ones excited about the change. Many people who do not possess the proper identification are eager to get a free library card in order to vote.
"It was our intent to make voting easier, not more difficult," Wharton said in a statement. "In so doing, we knew that we were fighting this battle not just for the citizens of Memphis but for every city and community across Tennessee where you have seniors, the disabled and people in general in need of greater access and flexibility in obtaining a valid ID for voting."
Associated Press wire service contributed to this story.
