As Election Day approaches, Pa. Supreme Court considers voter-ID law

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday over whether the state’s new voter-ID law should go into effect before the general election this November.

The six-member court, made up of three Republicans and three Democrats, heard arguments from both sides, but had tougher questions for the state, represented by several attorneys and Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. A few exchanges became “testy,” according to the AP.

The case, which carries national implications, is on appeal from the Commonwealth Court, a special appellate court that is found only in Pennsylvania and deals primarily with “legal matters involving state and local government and regulatory agencies,” according to the court’s website.

There, Judge Robert E. Simpson Jr. ruled in a 70-page opinion that the plaintiffs, including the American Civil Liberties Union and The Advancement Project, among others, had failed to show that voter disenfranchisement was “immediate or inevitable,” The Hill previously reported.

The ruling was a victory for the state’s GOP lawmakers and Corbett, who signed the bill into law in March after it passed the legislature without a single Democratic vote. The lawmakers have defended the measure as a means of preventing voter fraud and the principle of one-person, one-vote. The law’s detractors charge that it is unneeded and will lead to a large number of elderly and minorities being unable to vote, as they are the groups most likely to not possess one of the accepted forms of ID.

The court has seven members, all of them elected; however, Republican Joan Orie Melvin is currently suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation on criminal charges relating to her alleged use of state resources for campaign purposes. In the event of a 3-3 tie, the lower court’s decision would stand and the law would remain in effect for the election.

---