Veteran IDs problem with voter measure
Proposed bill wouldn't allow disabled veterans to use photo ID issued by VA not stamped with expiration date
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Lancaster New Era
Mar 12, 2012 22:44
By TOM MURSE
Staff Writer
A controversial proposal requiring all Pennsylvania voters to show certain photo identification at their polling places could make it more difficult for many disabled veterans to cast ballots.
The legislation being debated by the state House would not permit disabled veterans to use photo ID cards issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that are not stamped with an expiration date.
Republicans who support the voter ID measure say the intention of the bill is to crack down on voter fraud, and they say requiring voters to produce a recent photo of themselves is crucial to the effort.
But critics say the legislation is a slap in the face to Americans who served their country and are merely seeking to exercise their civic duty.
"For me, it's the principle of the matter. … You know what they went through to get that ID? I don't think most people do," said Gary Schreckengost, a retired U.S. Army infantry major in the Army Reserve and veteran of wars in Bosnia and Iraq.
"For them to flippantly say, 'Oh, they can go get a driver's license' — you don't understand all the bureaucratic crap they've already gone through," said Schreckengost, who lives in Elm and alerted local lawmakers to the issue.
Ron Ruman, a spokesman for the Department of State, the agency that oversees election in Pennsylvania, said the bill would indeed require voters to show an ID that has an expiration date. IDs without an expiration date would not be accepted.
"The Legislature can amend this when it wants to. In the meantime, those folks could apply for a nondriver's license photo ID," he said. "They've got to get to the driver's license center, but that's a one-time thing that's good for four years."
State Rep. Scott Boyd, a Republican from West Lampeter Township, said the form of ID in question is a VA medical benefits card, which includes a photograph but no expiration date because the benefits are for life.
He confirmed that the voter ID legislation under consideration now would not allow those cards to be used at polling places. He said he will work to revise the law if it passes and is signed by the governor.
It is unclear how many veterans hold only those forms of ID, but Boyd indicated they are in the minority.
"It is important to note that most veterans who have this card have other forms of photo ID readily available, like a driver's license or a passport," Boyd said.
"In addition, the bill provides for any individual — not just a veteran — to apply for and secure a free photo ID from (the state Department of Transportation)," he said.
The bill has already passed the Senate and cannot be easily amended at this stage of the process, Boyd said.
"I will be working with staff to draft a revision to this act as soon as it becomes law," Boyd said. "Perhaps, with bipartisan support, the revision may well be adopted prior to my departure from the legislature."
Boyd is retiring at the end of 2012.
Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated he would sign the bill as is, which would give Pennsylvania one of the nation's toughest voter ID laws. A spokesperson, asked about concerns about the veteran IDs, said the governor did not have a position on that specific issue.
The legislation is opposed by Democrats, civil liberties advocates, labor unions, the AARP, the NAACP and a county commissioners association.
Pennsylvania Republicans say the requirement will prevent fraudulent votes. Their counterparts in other state houses across the country are pushing for similar measures ahead of this year's presidential election.
A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which has been tracking the legislation here, said the agency does not have deep concerns about the bill because there are ways for veterans to obtain acceptable forms of identification so they can vote.
"We see a variety of ways that most people would be able to get a valid ID," Military and Veterans Affairs spokesperson Joan Nissley said.
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Butler County Republican who authored the bill, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. Lancaster County's director of veterans affairs also could not be reached for comment.
Schreckengost, in a letter to the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, urged other veterans to boycott the election or use their VA cards to get turned away from the polls.
"I urge all Pennsylvanians to stand by those few who, for whatever reason, have only a VA photo ID card because it's the only one they have or think they should have," he wrote. "Trust me, they went through far more things than most people did to get said document. They stood by you when you needed them, and I urge you, in this little way, to stand by them."
tmurse@lnpnews.com
Staff Writer
A controversial proposal requiring all Pennsylvania voters to show certain photo identification at their polling places could make it more difficult for many disabled veterans to cast ballots.
The legislation being debated by the state House would not permit disabled veterans to use photo ID cards issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that are not stamped with an expiration date.
Republicans who support the voter ID measure say the intention of the bill is to crack down on voter fraud, and they say requiring voters to produce a recent photo of themselves is crucial to the effort.
But critics say the legislation is a slap in the face to Americans who served their country and are merely seeking to exercise their civic duty.
"For me, it's the principle of the matter. … You know what they went through to get that ID? I don't think most people do," said Gary Schreckengost, a retired U.S. Army infantry major in the Army Reserve and veteran of wars in Bosnia and Iraq.
"For them to flippantly say, 'Oh, they can go get a driver's license' — you don't understand all the bureaucratic crap they've already gone through," said Schreckengost, who lives in Elm and alerted local lawmakers to the issue.
Ron Ruman, a spokesman for the Department of State, the agency that oversees election in Pennsylvania, said the bill would indeed require voters to show an ID that has an expiration date. IDs without an expiration date would not be accepted.
"The Legislature can amend this when it wants to. In the meantime, those folks could apply for a nondriver's license photo ID," he said. "They've got to get to the driver's license center, but that's a one-time thing that's good for four years."
State Rep. Scott Boyd, a Republican from West Lampeter Township, said the form of ID in question is a VA medical benefits card, which includes a photograph but no expiration date because the benefits are for life.
He confirmed that the voter ID legislation under consideration now would not allow those cards to be used at polling places. He said he will work to revise the law if it passes and is signed by the governor.
It is unclear how many veterans hold only those forms of ID, but Boyd indicated they are in the minority.
"It is important to note that most veterans who have this card have other forms of photo ID readily available, like a driver's license or a passport," Boyd said.
"In addition, the bill provides for any individual — not just a veteran — to apply for and secure a free photo ID from (the state Department of Transportation)," he said.
The bill has already passed the Senate and cannot be easily amended at this stage of the process, Boyd said.
"I will be working with staff to draft a revision to this act as soon as it becomes law," Boyd said. "Perhaps, with bipartisan support, the revision may well be adopted prior to my departure from the legislature."
Boyd is retiring at the end of 2012.
Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated he would sign the bill as is, which would give Pennsylvania one of the nation's toughest voter ID laws. A spokesperson, asked about concerns about the veteran IDs, said the governor did not have a position on that specific issue.
The legislation is opposed by Democrats, civil liberties advocates, labor unions, the AARP, the NAACP and a county commissioners association.
Pennsylvania Republicans say the requirement will prevent fraudulent votes. Their counterparts in other state houses across the country are pushing for similar measures ahead of this year's presidential election.
A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which has been tracking the legislation here, said the agency does not have deep concerns about the bill because there are ways for veterans to obtain acceptable forms of identification so they can vote.
"We see a variety of ways that most people would be able to get a valid ID," Military and Veterans Affairs spokesperson Joan Nissley said.
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Butler County Republican who authored the bill, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. Lancaster County's director of veterans affairs also could not be reached for comment.
Schreckengost, in a letter to the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, urged other veterans to boycott the election or use their VA cards to get turned away from the polls.
"I urge all Pennsylvanians to stand by those few who, for whatever reason, have only a VA photo ID card because it's the only one they have or think they should have," he wrote. "Trust me, they went through far more things than most people did to get said document. They stood by you when you needed them, and I urge you, in this little way, to stand by them."
tmurse@lnpnews.com
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