Recent legislation requires photo identification at polls

While the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation estimates around 750,000 statewide voters…While the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation estimates around 750,000 statewide voters lack a valid form of identification, Pitt officials say ID cards issued by the University are considered valid under the state’s new voter ID law.

Although opponents of the voter ID law are concerned it would disenfranchise eligible voters who do not have an appropriate form of identification, Pitt students with University ID cards should have no problem voting in the November presidential election. Pitt spokesman Robert Hill said in an email that because University ID cards include expiration dates, the state considers them a valid form of ID.

The Pennsylvania law requires that voters present a valid form of photographic identification every time they enter their polling location. In addition, the identification card — issued by a government agency, a state university or one of the commonwealth’s nursing homes — must be have a visible expiration date.

Critics of the law, including Democrats, have accused state Republicans of attempting to suppress the vote of elderly citizens, minorities, disabled people and the low income bracket of the electorate that typically vote Democrat by limiting accessibility to valid forms of identification. Proponents of the law said that it’s necessary in order to prevent voter fraud.

In recent days, this ideological battle over Voter ID has fallen into the courtroom. This month, Pennsyvania Judge Robert Simpson upheld the Commonwealth’s right to require voter ID at polls.

“Petitioners did not establish . . . that disenfranchisement was immediate or inevitable,” Simpson wrote in his 70-page opinion.

The case will likely be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by Voter ID’s opponents in coming days.

Pitt’s Director of Commonwealth Relations Charles McLaughlin said the University has a policy of not providing a public stance on state government issues.

“Generally, on issues that are this contentious, the University does not take a stance,” McLaughlin said.

Outside of Pitt’s campus, the newly-enacted law has received widespread criticism from Pennsylvania’s Democratic party as well as numerous other national and state organizations.

Amie Downs, a spokeswoman for Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, said Pennsylvania’s state constitution lists being 18 years of age and living in Pennsylvania and the U.S. for a month as the only criteria for an eligible voter. She said Republicans didn’t attempt to amend the state’s constitution to account for the law’s lack of constitutionality.

Fitzgerald was a co-signer of a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania related to the voter ID law.

Downs also said the new voter ID law could prevent 100,000 Allegheny County residents from voting in the November presidential election.

Critics of the law and statistics from the Department of State have raised concerns about whether eligible voters will be able to obtain valid identification before the election.

Ana Gonzalez, a Philadelphia resident who was born in Puerto Rico and currently lacks a valid form of identification, said the new law could prevent her from voting for the first time since gaining eligibility.

“I don’t have a birth certificate and, right now, I’m trying to get my birth certificate and I was told I needed a photo ID to try to get a birth certificate, so that’s the situation my family’s struggling with and that’s why I felt I need to get in contact with the ACLU and see if there’s some way they could help me and try to take a stand against this issue,” Gonzalez said.

With the backing of voters like Gonzalez, organizations from around the nation have publicly opposed the law and dedicated resources to defeat it through the state’s court system.

New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, one of the law’s most vocal national opponents, offered its expert assistance in Applewhite v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the case in which Simpson upheld the Voter ID Law.

The ACLU and Advancement Project are two of multiple organizations providing legal assistance in the ongoing battle over voter ID in Pennsylvania.

Wendy Weiser, Director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, said Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, Pennsylvania’s House majority leader, revealed the true intentions of the law at a Republican State Committee meeting earlier this year. Turzai said the new law gave presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney an edge in the state.

“Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation — abortion facility regulations — in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is going to allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done,” Turzai said.

Weiser said Turzai’s admission invalidated the Republicans’ argument that the law was enacted to combat possible problems of in-person voting fraud.

“In fact, as we all heard, the House Majority Leader had said that it, in fact, was the reason that the law was passed was in order to deliver Mitt Romney as president,” Weiser said.

Steve Miskin, Turzai’s press secretary, said reports “misrepresented and mischaracterized” the state representative’s remarks.

“The unsaid sentence was that for the first time in many years, there will be a level playing field in Pennsylvania because of voter ID and other election reforms put in place,” Miskin said. “The fact is, there is and has been election fraud in Pennsylvania regardless of Democrat and ACLU naysayers.”

Many of Turzai’s Democratic counterparts, however, disagreed with Miskin’s clarification, saying the law poorly defines what’s considered a valid form of identification, thereby putting voters’ rights in danger.

Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, whose legislative district encompasses Pitt’s campus, said in an email that the law was “ill-conceived [and] short-sighted” and could affect many voters — including students.

“This will hit students hard — especially if questions are raised about the expiration dates on identification cards,” Costa said. “Seniors, the less-affluent, minorities and others without driver’s licenses or other forms of identification will also face obstacles and may not participate in the election.”

But in a statement released on Aug. 15, Turzai once again defended his position on the issue.

“The many election reforms enacted, includng voter ID, are aimed to ensure citizens and registered voters have the right to vote and have their vote counted. It’s about one person, one vote, and each instance of fraud dilutes legitimate votes,” the statement said. “The elections in the Commonwealth will be on a more level playing field thanks to voter ID and other recent election reforms.”