Voter ID takes center stage at library

If Pennsylvania’s voter ID law is upheld when it goes before the state Supreme Court this…If Pennsylvania’s voter ID law is upheld when it goes before the state Supreme Court this Thursday, Jon Pushinsky’s veteran father wouldn’t have been able to vote in the upcoming election.

Pushinsky, a Pittsburgh lawyer who has cooperated with the ACLU as a volunteer for more than 30 years, was one of the 15 people who spoke critically of Pennsylvania’s voter ID law during a community meeting held at the Monroeville Public Library Monday night. Opponents of the legislation — Pushinsky among them — claim that it is aimed at keeping minorities and the poor out of the polling booths.

“If your next-door neighbor is working at the polling station when you go to vote, and [he or she] … knows who you are, does he or she have to ask you for ID? The answer is yes,” Pushinsky said, adding that those monitoring polling stations who fail to check voter IDs could face prosecution under the new law.

Pushinsky said that his own father was an example of a voter for whom the law poses difficulties. The D-Day veteran, who moved into the Pittsburgh area from Florida when he fell sick two years ago, was too frail to obtain a Pennsylvania driver’s license when he relocated. As soon as he learned about the law, he became very concerned that he would be unable to vote in this year’s presidential election and offered to join the ACLU’s lawsuit.

Pushinsky said his father passed away last April.

The library hosted the community meeting on behalf of the ACLU to inform voters about the law. If the law is upheld, voters must have photo ID with an expiration date in order to cast their votes.

Poll workers will accept Pennsylvania driver’s licenses, passports, Pennsylvania resident identifications, military identifications with an expiration date or whose expiration date is listed as indefinite, state and municipal employee identifications, identifications issued by licensed care facilities and identifications issued by Pennsylvania institutions of higher learning — meaning Pitt IDs will qualify as valid identification. IDs that have expired and both trade and vocational school IDs will not be accepted.

Mark Hudson, the Monroeville Public Library’s head of adult services said that he organized the event after the ACLU contacted the library.

“The more information people have about this law, the better they can deal with obstacles that may be placed in their way,” Hudson said.

Prospective voters who lack such forms of identification will be able to receive an identification card for voting purposes by presenting a social security card, a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization or a certificate of citizenship at one of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s license centers. The centers also require proof of residence.

Pushinsky believes the Thursday hearing before the Supreme Court promises to be close. Because Justice Joan Orie Melvin was removed from the bench after being indicted on ethics violations, only six judges will hear the case, instead of the usual seven. They will be evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, which makes it hard to predict whether the ACLU’s lawsuit can win the majority required to overturn the law.

None of those in attendance at the library spoke in support of the law, and most expressed concerns about the difficulties that they or others could face in obtaining the proper identification.

Marylyn Devlin, 61, a Pitt graduate, drew a parallel between the new law and the poll taxes and literacy tests that existed in some states before the United States Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional.

“I think it’s un-American to deny people the right to vote,” Devlin, a retired elementary school teacher, said.

Devlin believes that the law will do just that and that it aims in particular at preventing poorer voters, who historically favor Democratic candidates, from voting in the upcoming election.

Hudson believed the ACLU’s event would help to inform members. Although he stressed that as a librarian, he had to maintain his objectivity while providing the public with information, he views the law as “un-Democratic.”

He believes that the event provided information to the community that would prove useful to potential voters who lack the proper identification.

Ngani Ndimbie, 25, a community organizer for the ACLU, was also present at the event to distribute informational literature and answer questions on behalf of the Union.

She said that she still hoped for a victory for the ACLU on Thursday, saying that she felt the organization’s case was strong.

“I don’t think there is any way for this law to be enforced the way it is written and not infringe on the rights of voters,” she said.