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Controversial voter ID law upheld in Pennsylvania
A Pennsylvania judge has upheld the state’s new voter ID law, dismaying the law’s opponents, who have vowed to appeal the decision, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Judge Robert E. Simpson Jr. ruled in favor of the state’s Republican lawmakers, declaring in a 70-page opinion that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that voter disenfranchisement was “immediate or inevitable.”
Groups fighting the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union and The Advancement Project, had hoped that Simpson would issue an injunction, preventing the law from going into effect.
The law has been mired in controversy since its inception.
Signed into law in March by Gov. Tom Corbett (R) after failing to receive a single Democratic vote in the GOP-controlled legislature, the law requires voters to present a valid photo ID before voting. Democrats and civil-rights groups have opposed it, arguing that the law is motivated by partisanship and would disenfranchise minorities and the elderly, who they maintain often do not possess one of the accepted forms of photo ID.
Republican Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele repeated the defense in a statement released today, announcing her pleasure with the decision.
“By giving us a reliable way to verify the identity of each voter, the voter ID law will enhance confidence in our elections,” Aichele said.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka blasted the decision.
“These laws are being pushed for partisan reasons to disenfranchise particular groups of voters. They are cynical and wrong, and they undermine our democracy,” he said in a statement.
The law is likely to be appealed to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, which is currently split between three Republicans and three Democrats.
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