Voter ID Case Goes to PA Supreme Court Thursday
A local group plans to present petitions on Thursday in downtown Pittsburgh calling on Allegheny County election officials not to enforce a new voter ID law this November.
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Opponents of Pennsylvania's new voter ID law will make their case Thursday before the state Supreme Court.
There's no timeframe for a ruling from the court, but the Nov. 6 general election is fast approaching. Oct. 9 is the last day to register to vote.
The PA Supreme Court is composed of three Republican and three Democratic justices. (A seventh judge was suspended while she faces criminal charges.)
A 3-3 tie would affirm the decision of the lower court, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report. The Commonwealth Court, in August, upheld the law.
Supporters say that the law will prevent voter fraud and imposes the same photo ID standard required in many common circumstances.
Challengers say that the law is designed to disenfranchise poor and elderly voters who often support Democratic candidates. They cite as evidence state Rep. Mike Turzai's declaration that the law will allow Mitt Romney to win Pennsylvania in the upcoming presidential election.
A key question in the Supreme Court case will be how strictly courts should scrutinize voting rules, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report.
Also on Thursday, a local group opposing the law will present Just Say No petitions to Allegheny County election officials. The petitions have more than 15,000 signatures statewide and more than 4,000 from Allegheny County.
The group, led by Steven Singer, who started a SignOn.org petition, will meet at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. Shortly after, the group will march a block to the county election offices and deliver its petitions.
The group will then hold a press conference and be joined by people from the PA Interfaith Impact Network, other community members and politicians. To attend, RSVP by clicking here.
Voters can get a free photo ID at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation driver's license centers so that they can comply with the law. As of Friday, PennDOT had issued 7,226 IDs for voting purposes.
A few weeks ago, a federal three-judge panel ruled that a similar voter ID law in Texas discriminates against poor and minority voters. In a "friend of the court" brief filed against the Pennsylvania law, a group of law professors argued that federal courts have struck down less stringent laws in three other states—Missouri, Georgia and Wisconsin, according to this editorial on philly.com.
This article originally appeared on the ForestHills-RegentSquare Patch.
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Sandy Lundberg
9:34 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
My mother is 91 years old and I don't know if anyone can even imagine the difficulty I am going to have just to get her paperwork together to get her a voter ID. It's 91 incredible years worth of stuff. And after I get her stuff together I have to drum up her birth certificate to prove she was who she originally was before she was married. It's insane! The man who is arguing FOR the voter IDs before our Supreme Court needs to be committed to a safe psychiatric hospital. He doesn't seem to give a hoot about people like my mom because the ACLU couldn't find one person who didn't have ID. No one called her. He's making me sick and to have elected him to do what he's doing was done by a crowd of people who should join him in the hospital. If he was defending me, I would have chewn my nails down to the qhick and pulled out my hair. He hasn't got a clue what he's saying (just keeps babbling on and on about the same things) and he doesn't have much of a notion about what's in the Pennsylvania Constitution ( knows all kinds of stuff about other states' Constitions though) If he is succussful, he can be proud of himself for denying my mother's 70+ year to vote. For shame!!
Matt A.
10:00 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
My mother is in her 90 and she is in and out of hospitals and needs photo ID each time she goes to the hospital. Each time she goes to the bank she needs Photo ID to move money around in her accounts. She needs Photo ID to go to her Doctors.
When you mother goes and gets her comfort care from obamacare because they aren't going to do surgery, chemo or anything else for her only to keep her comfortable she will need photo ID.. Voters ID should of been in place in the 70's and so glad now that 36 states have passed laws for Voters ID. Eventually all states will go this way. To much voter fraud out there. People should started working on getting Photo ID back in February instead of waiting for the last minute.
NE12Ukid
11:48 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Just in case some didn't read to the end of the article, it does say
"A few weeks ago, a federal three-judge panel ruled that a similar voter ID law in Texas discriminates against poor and minority voters. In a "friend of the court" brief filed against the Pennsylvania law, a group of law professors argued that federal courts have struck down less stringent laws in three other states—Missouri, Georgia and Wisconsin, according to this editorial on philly.com."
Many of those who will be disenfranchised come November are people who may not even HAVE a phone, so no one could call them. They may have become homeless and be in a shelter. They most likely have VERY different lives than most of those who post their thoughts here on PATCH.
The money and time being wasted on this is ridiculous. A big ole mess to stop all the voter fraud of the kind that never happened. There's an agenda at work here, and it has nothing to do with voter fraud. Turzai of the big mouth can explain it to you.
cc
9:54 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
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