Pa. Supreme Court must overturn voter ID law 

Published: Sunday, September 09, 2012, 12:53 AM

By Patriot-News Op-EdThe Patriot-News

By Rep. Ronald G. Waters
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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.

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.