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Voter ID law prompts election day confusion, protest and a lawsuit
Tuesday's primary was the "dry run" for a voter ID law that Democrats and civil rights groups call a naked GOP attempt to suppress the votes of poor people, minorities and students. Though turnout was low, there was some confusion, one protest and word of a lawsuit from the ACLU.
Voter ID law prompts election day confusion, protest and a lawsuit
Tuesday’s primary wasn’t just a school-voucher showdown or a biennial chance to crack open the local political machine and peer inside. It was also the dry run for Pennsylvania’s brand-new voter-ID law, touted by Pennsylvania Republicans as a voter-fraud deterrent. The legislation, signed in March, drew outrage from Democrats and civil-rights groups who say there’s paltry evidence that voter fraud exists in significant amounts and call the law a naked attempt to suppress the votes of Democratic-leaning poor people, minorities and students.
This primary was supposed to be a practice run for November, when a state driver’s license, passport or other specified ID will be required to vote in Pennsylvania. Poll workers were supposed to ask for photo ID and inform those without it that they’ll need it next time, but confusion was abundant across the state. The Committee of Seventy reported poll workers “in many locations” in Philly weren’t asking at all, while some in other areas were overzealous. According to the ACLU, some poll workers in Pittsburgh erroneously told voters ID was required, a sign at one Harrisburg polling place read “Be prepared to show photo identification” and another in Cumberland County erroneously declared, “ID required to vote."
In Philadelphia, some Democrats took the opportunity to show their distaste for the measure.
“As you know, the Republicans in Harrisburg recently passed a new voter ID law,” began a letter distributed at polling places in the 5th Ward, which stretches from Society Hill through Midtown Village, Chinatown and Northern Liberties. “The law is scheduled for a test run in the primary. We advise you to decline to present a photo ID for this election if requested. ... The new law is being challenged in state and federal court. We think there is a good chance that it will be struck down.”
“It's kind of a protest,” Democratic 5th Ward Leader Michael Boyle told City Paper, calling the law an obvious partisan play. “And that's how the Republicans plan on winning in November.”
Republican 5th Ward Leader Mike Cibik was not amused, though he was amusing.
“That's just goofy. You can quote me on that one. Disney goofy! Why don't they just tie their shoelaces together or something? It's very simple: It's a five-letter word called ‘fraud.’ F-R-A-U-D. Maybe these people ought to go to an eye doctor or something. I support it. Everybody has ID. You go to a MAC machine, you have to have ID. You go to Wal-Mart to buy a can of peanuts, you have to have ID.”
Presumably, Cibik buys peanuts with a credit card.
The Pennsylvania ACLU plans to challenge the law in court next week, says Associate Director Sara Mullen. And she tells CP that the state has failed provide voters with the free identification promised.
“The most disturbing thing about today was the press release issued by Secretary [of State Carol] Aichele that said 'Any voter who does not have an acceptable form of photo ID can get one at any PennDOT driver license center free of charge.' We know of numerous individuals who have attempted to get the free ID and been turned down for a variety of dubious reasons, including failure to pay fines, their age, the fact that they have had previously had ID, and in some cases for no clear reason at all.”
I wasn't offered a sticker, or asked for I.D. at my polling place in Bridesburg!! When I asked about the I.D., was told at the polls they weren't required to ask until November!!!— Dadair1- The fact that some election officials aren't as competent as the average retail cashier shouldn't come as a surprise.
It is naked racism to assert that minorities are less able to get a photo i.d. than others. They are in an ethnic minority, not incompetent. Poor people need i.d. to get free medical care and to use their access cards. Students need i.d. to get into their dorms, to eat in school dining halls, to take part in all sorts of campus activities. Repeating these spurious complaints just puts your utter lack of journalistic integrity and impartiality in bold print.
The fact that voter fraud is so well organized that it rarely is detected isn't the same as the fraud itself being rare. Democrats are terrified of how badly they would do in honest elections.— Herb Shallcross - The fact that some election officials aren't as competent as the average retail cashier shouldn't come as a surprise. It is naked racism to assert that minorities are less able to get a photo i.d. than others. They are in an ethnic minority, not incompetent. Poor people need i.d. to get free medical care and to use their access cards. Students need i.d. to get into their dorms, to eat in school dining halls, to take part in all sorts of campus activities. Repeating these spurious complaints just puts your utter lack of journalistic integrity and impartiality in bold print. The fact that voter fraud is so well organized that it rarely is detected isn't the same as the fraud itself being rare. Democrats are terrified of how badly they would do in honest elections. (HTML deleted)— Herb Shallcross
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