Waters supports 'Every Voter Counts' package

HARRISBURG, May 23 – State Rep. Ronald G. Waters, D-Delaware/Phila., is cosponsoring a package of bills designed to help voters comply with the state’s new voter ID law and ensure that their votes will count.

Waters said the "Every Voter Counts" initiative won his support because it sensibly and fairly addresses the need for voters to be educated on the new law, helps them obtain a required photo ID, reimburses or waives the fee for obtaining a birth certificate needed to get an ID, and creates a mechanism whereby they can track the status of provisional ballots and learn how to appeal if those ballots are rejected.

"This legislation assists senior citizens, the disabled, veterans and others who may have difficulty obtaining a photo ID or understanding the new rules," Waters said. "Knowledge is power – and these bills, if enacted, will give people the knowledge that they need to ensure that their vote counts."

Among key tenets of the package, Waters said he supports creating a mobile voter outreach program, whereby sanctioned voter registration employees would visit community centers, senior centers and vocational schools, educating registered voters and providing them with the photo ID needed to cast a ballot.

Waters also embraces waiving the birth certificate fee for anyone who needs one to obtain state-issued photo ID, as is currently done for veterans, and reimbursing them up to $50 for the cost of an out-of-state birth certificate needed for that purpose.

Another provision of the package would permit online voter registration in Pennsylvania, as is allowed in 11 other states.

"If the Voter ID law is here to stay, even those of us who philosophically don’t agree with it must learn to make the best of a bad situation," Waters said. "These bills go a long way toward making the Voter ID law less onerous. These are ways we can make it more livable."