Judge Moves Impediment to Voting For Thousands of Citizens in Pennsylvania Voter ID Victory

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

The Pennsylvania voter identification law has thankfully been delayed until after next month’s election.  Although Pennsylvania is now largely predicted to go to Obama, the case could have repercussions further afield.  The New York Times had an interesting write up that can found at their website. Take a look at this excerpt:

“A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday delayed full implementation of a highly contested state law requiring strict photographic identification to vote in next month’s election, saying that the authorities had not done enough to ensure that potential voters had access to the new documents. Pennsylvania is one of a number of swing states that could make the difference in the presidential race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, especially if the count is close. Increasingly, however, Mr. Obama, who won Pennsylvania in 2008, has been pulling far ahead of Mr. Romney in key states. A Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News poll last week showed Mr. Obama ahead in Pennsylvania by 12 points.”

Also, Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog, who is a respected election reformer, had the following to add:

But the judge enjoined only part of the law. The state may still ask for id.  But it must accept a ballot even if the voter fails to have id.  It will not be necessary to cast a provisional ballot. This may cause confusion at the polls, as the state will still have poll workers ask for id, even though a voter can vote without it. The state may appeal. I expect any state argument along these lines to be rejected by the state Supreme Court, given the last ruling. And after the election there will be a full trial on whether or not to permanently enjoin the law.  I predict that after this election, the PA courts will in fact uphold the voter id law, perhaps even on a unanimous vote of the state Supreme Court.