No ID Required to Vote in Pennsylvania, Judge Rules
by David Patterson | October 03, 2012
PHILADELPHIA – In a decisive victory for the rights of all voters, a judge has ruled that Pennsylvania’s dangerous voter ID requirements will not be enforced on Election Day, November 6.
Aimed at disenfranchising nearly a million registered voters who do not carry state-issued identification, Pennsylvania Republicans passed the strict ID law in order to keep those who traditionally vote Democrat away from the ballot box. As Mike Turzai, state Republican House leader stated after its passage, the law would “allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”
But just five weeks before the election, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson has ruled that registered voters will not be required to show an ID to vote.
“This is a major victory for working families, seniors, students and veterans,” said Pennsylvania’s AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David R. Fillman. “Now we can get down to the real work of getting candidates elected who have the best interests of all Americans in mind.”
According to the judge’s ruling, poll workers will be able to ask for ID, however, if a voter has none available he or she will still be allowed to cast a standard ballot that is completely valid. (Read the entire order here.)
AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders is calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to launch a public information campaign to reduce confusion at the ballot box for Pennsylvania’s 8.2 million voters.
“The Corbett Administration and the Department of State need to provide immediate resources to inform voters and election workers and officials about Judge Simpson’s decision that no voter ID will be required at the ballot box,” Saunders said Tuesday.
“Millions of dollars in state resources has already been spent publicizing voter ID requirements that are no longer valid because of the judge’s ruling. It is the responsibility of the Corbett Administration to ensure that these new rules are equally publicized so that no registered voter in Pennsylvania is disenfranchised due to confusion created by the state.”
