Court Rejects ‘Motor Voter’ Law Delay : Ruling: Appellate decision forces governor to begin implementing the federal statute, which allows registration at DMV offices, in June. Some accuse Wilson of foot-dragging for his own political gain.

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied Gov. Wilson’s attempt to delay enforcement of a new federal law that allows voter registration in state Department of Motor Vehicles offices.

The court’s ruling forces Wilson to begin implementing the law in mid-June while he continues to fight it in other appellate challenges.

“We are a little bit disappointed,” said Wilson spokesman Paul Kranhold, “but we’re hopeful that either the 9th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court will see that the federal government is exceeding its authority.”

Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, called the unanimous three-judge decision a “stinging defeat” for Wilson, whom Rosenbaum accused of fighting the law to enhance his presidential prospects.

Wilson argues that the law violates states’ rights, but Rosenbaum said that is “just a camouflage for the real agenda, which is to keep the poor and the minorities away from the polls.”

Wilson is one of five Republican governors who have refused to enforce the law in a showdown with the Clinton Administration. By increasing voter registration, some say, the law will help Democratic candidates at election time.

During the last state election, 80% of the voters were white, but whites make up only 54% of the state’s adult population. Federal officials cite huge jumps in registration in states that have implemented the law.

The court ruled on a request by Wilson for an emergency stay of a lower court’s order to enforce the law. Although Wilson lost that bid, the 9th Circuit has agreed to hear a full-blown appeal on the lower court ruling on an accelerated schedule.

In the meantime, Wilson must meet the lower court’s schedule for enforcement. He estimates that it will cost the state about $18 million annually and argues that the law should not be implemented unless the federal government bears the full cost.

Ruling against Wilson were Judges Joseph T. Sneed, James R. Browning and Thomas G. Nelson.

Robert Rubin, a lawyer for a voting rights coalition fighting Wilson, said he is pleased that the court will not allow “any more foot-dragging on the part of the governor.” By attacking the law, Rubin said, Wilson is “trying to deny Californians the right to participate in the political process.”

The law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires motor vehicle and social service offices to make voter registration forms available. Registration forms also must be sent to each motorist with applications for driver’s license renewal, and state motor vehicle offices must notify voter registration officials of address changes.

A Los Angeles Times poll found that majorities of Republicans and conservatives dislike the registration law, while pluralities of Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates endorse it. Forty-nine percent overall favored the idea and 42% were opposed.

Long sought by Democrats, the law was passed by Congress in 1993 and signed into law by President Clinton. In addition to Wilson, the Republican governors of Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Michigan have refused to enforce it.

Kranhold noted that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Illinois has granted that state a stay of a similar lower court ruling on the voter law. “We are prepared to take this to the U.S. Supreme Court,” the Wilson spokesman said.