FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Ronald Waters D-Delaware/Phila. www.pahouse.com/waters

Waters: Voter ID bill an attempt to suppress senior, minority, low-income vote

HARRISBURG, March 13 – State Rep. Ronald G. Waters, chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, said the Voter ID legislation passed by Republican leadership in the House and Senate is an attack on Pennsylvania's poor, senior and minority voters.

The legislation (H.B. 934) would require all voters in every single election to present an unexpired, valid government photo ID in order to vote. Current federal law only requires voters to present identification when they vote for the first time in a new election precinct.

"The very party which prides itself on fiscal conservatism and minimalist government can now take credit for one of the biggest wastes of money and government meddling in recent history," Waters said. "There is no voter fraud in Pennsylvania. This bill is the fraud -- there is no mass conspiracy to rig elections -- study after study proves that.

"This is nothing more than an attempt by Republican leadership to keep seniors, minorities and low-income citizens from their constitutional right to vote," Waters continued. "As other states like Wisconsin and Texas are ruling similar laws unconstitutional, Pennsylvania will have the distinction of moving backwards with this discriminatory bill. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars, and it will eventually be overturned at taxpayer expense."

Waters said the Corbett administration itself estimates it will cost more than $4 million.

"It astounds me that there is no money for public education, colleges and universities, the disabled or poor, but there's money for a non-existent voter fraud problem," Waters added. 

Waters said Pennsylvania already has effective systems in place to prevent voter fraud, including the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allows the state to verify a voter's identity by:

• registering to vote at the same time that they apply for, or seek to renew, a driver's license;
• submitting their voter-registration applications by mail, using forms developed jointly by each state and the Election Assistance Commission; and
• requiring states to offer voter-registration opportunities at all offices that provide public assistance of any kind.

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