Voter ID Issue Back on Front Burner
As the state Senate Appropriations Committee was preparing to consider controversial voter ID legislation, the Protect Our Vote coalition gathered in the capitol rotunda to urge lawmakers to reject the proposal. The group also unfurled a roll of petitions filled with 13,000 signatures of voter ID opponents. Copies of those petitions were then delivered to all 50 state senators.
“It is an unfunded mandate to be passed along to the cities, towns and taxpayers of the commonwealth, and will not result in curtailing so-called fraud,” said Michael Brunelle, executive director of the SEIU State Council. The coalition and its supporters say HB 934 is unnecessary, and it will deprive citizens of their right to vote.
But the state would provide free photo IDs to eligible voters who need them, according to Secretary of the Department of State Carol Aichele. “It is my commitment to make sure that everyone who wants a photo ID in Pennsylvania is able to obtain one,” she told the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. The photo IDs would be churned out through PennDOT’s 97 drivers licensing centers, and the governor’s proposed budget has even carved out $1-million for non-drivers ID cards for voting purposes.
The legislation would effectively require all voters to produce an approved form of photo ID every time they go to the polls. Supporters say it would ensure integrity in the vote process, but critics say there’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
The bill passed the House (108 – 88) last June. Then, an amended version was advanced by the Senate State Government Committee (6 – 5) in December. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed it late Monday (15 – 11).
