Pa.
Supreme Court must overturn voter ID law
Published:
Sunday, September 09, 2012, 12:53 AM
By
Rep. Ronald G. Waters
The moral outrage and national embarrassment over Pennsylvania’s
strictest-in-the-nation voter identification law are well-deserved. But what’s
most disturbing about this law is the fact that it’s a blatant abuse of power
by the controlling party in Harrisburg — the Republicans — for purely partisan
political gain.
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| Rep. Ronald G. Waters |
The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday on whether to
stop the voter ID law from taking effect this fall. While the justices should
keep in mind the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians likely to be
disenfranchised by this law, they also should be mindful of their role as a
constitutional check against abuses of power by the Legislature and the
governor.
These
six Supreme Court justices (the seventh has been suspended while she faces
criminal charges) might be the only people who can stop this unconstitutional
Republican power grab. The Supreme Court is evenly split politically — three
Democrats and three Republicans. If the court’s voter ID decision ends in a 3-3
tie, the Commonwealth Court’s ruling would be upheld and voter ID would remain
in effect for November’s elections.
That’s
why all eyes will be on Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille. A Republican and
former Philadelphia district attorney, Castille has been known to set party
allegiances aside in his rulings. Most recently, he stunned political observers
by throwing out the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission’s
redrawn state House and Senate district maps.
In
his written opinion on that case, Castille wrote “It is true, of course, that
redistricting has an inevitably legislative, and therefore an inevitably
political, element; but, the constitutional commands and restrictions on the
process exist precisely as a brake on the most overt of potential excesses and
abuse.” Those words — “a brake on the most overt of potential excesses and
abuse” — are surprisingly relevant in the voter ID case.
Let’s
remember that state House Republican Majority Leader Mike Turzai made this
now-infamous remark “Voter ID, which is gonna allow Gov. Romney to win the
state of Pennsylvania, done.” It doesn’t get more overt than that. Turzai’s
comments were a rare moment of political honesty about what the voter ID law
truly is — a partisan scam intended to rig a presidential election for the
Republican candidate.
Even
the Commonwealth Court judge called Turzai’s statements “disturbing” and
“tendentious.” Unfortunately, the judge glossed over Turzai comments. The
Supreme Court should not make the same mistake. This law clearly was never
about preventing voter fraud, as there have been zero instances of in-person
voter fraud in Pennsylvania — the only type of fraud this law would prevent.
No,
the majority leader of the state House didn’t misspeak, and he wasn’t speaking
as just one lone powerless member of the House. He spoke from a position of
authority — as the person in charge of legislation in the state House.
This
law is intended to suppress the vote of traditionally Democratic-leaning
populations — minorities, women, seniors, individuals with disabilities and
young adults. These are people who are most likely not to have a U.S. passport
or a Pennsylvania driver’s license and do not have adequate resources to obtain
an acceptable alternative form of identification.
This
strategic ploy was meant to impact voters within months of its passage, leaving
many bewildered, overwhelmed and angry. Citizens must quickly learn the law’s
requirements and their responsibilities in ensuring they have an acceptable
proof of identification to cast their ballots on Nov. 6.
Some
citizens are forced to determine if their current identification will be
accepted while others who do not have identification must compile and submit
the required paperwork quickly to be able to vote. To make matters worse, only
PennDOT licensing centers can issue the alternative acceptable form of
identification and those centers often are not convenient and are open limited
hours. Lack of transportation to the PennDOT centers is a serious hurdle for
many voters.
It is
my hope that the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Castille, will do the
right thing by all Pennsylvanians and stop this undemocratic law — a transparent
abuse of power — from being implemented in November. If those six justices fail
to stop this sham of a voter ID law, they will share in the stained legacy that
this law will leave for future generations.
Rep.
Ronald G. Waters represents the 191st Legislative District in portions of
Philadelphia and Delaware counties and serves as chairman of the Pennsylvania
Legislative Black Caucus.
