Democratic lawmakers hail voter ID court decision but say there's more work to do
Published: Wednesday, October 03, 2012, 4:21 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 03, 2012, 4:58 PM
Tuesday's Commonwealth Court decision that put the requirement for voters to show a photo ID to vote in the Nov. 6 election was declared a victory by the law's opponents but more work lies ahead.
While waiting on a final decision from Gov. Tom Corbett's administration about whether it will appeal Judge Robert Simpson's ruling, Democratic leaders and other law opponents said efforts to permanently repeal the work need to put on the back burner.
For now, the focus must be on voter education efforts that no photo ID is required and the need for people to register by the Oct. 9 deadline.
"We got six days to register more voters and 36 days until it's time to go place that vote," said Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster.
Corbett indicated on Monday that he was leaning against appealing the Simpson's decision, but no decision has been made, a spokeswoman said.
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson did not order a halt to the state's voter ID education campaign. That also drew criticism from those gathered at a Capitol news conference.
The law's opponents said the ads that tell people they have to "show it" and flash a photo ID will only confuse people, given Simpson's ruling that the law will not take effect next month. Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton, called on the state to replace those with ads with ones telling people they do not need a photo ID to vote.
Sturla said voters also should be aware of another part of the ruling when they go to vote.
"I want to caution people though the part that is still in effect the pollworkers … are still supposed to ask you courteously to see if you want to produce a photo ID. You have the right to courteously decline or to courteously show them your photo ID. If they insist that they will not allow you to vote if you don't show a voter ID, you can tell them instead of just showing it, to just shove it," Sturla said.
Rep. Ron Waters, D-Philadelphia, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, was doubtful that the Corbett administration would appeal Simpson's ruling to the Supreme Court. He said the high court, by a 4-2 vote, asked Simpson to prove that the law's implementation would not suppress any votes and "they couldn't do that" so an appeal to that same court would make no sense.
Andy Hoover of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which led the court challenge to the voter ID law, said since the Supreme Court doesn't convene until Oct. 15, that would leave only three weeks before the election for that court to make a decision. . Given the confusion that already surrounds the law, Hoover said, " adding more confusion would not be good for the democratic process.”
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