The House voted 104 to 88 (with three Republicans opposed) to send House Bill 934 (Metcalfe-R-Butler) which requires voters to have a photo ID to the Governor for his action. Gov. Corbett immediately signed the bill into law before leaving for his trade mission to Europe.
"I am signing this bill because it protects a sacred principle, one shared by every citizen of this nation. That principle is: one person, one vote," Corbett said. "It sets a simple and clear standard to protect the integrity of our elections."
“Make no mistake; election fraud occurs in Pennsylvania," said House Speaker Sam Smith (R-Jefferson. "While we may disagree over the magnitude of this fraud, there is no question that it exists. In just the past five years, cases of election fraud have taken place in the Commonwealth resulting in arrests, guilty pleas and convictions.
“Many will remember the group called ACORN that recruited and registered voters during our last presidential election. In May 2009, a six-month FBI investigation led to forgery and election fraud charges against seven Pittsburgh-area ACORN employees. All received two years probation except one, which had his fraud charges dropped as part of a plea deal on other charges.
“The core of this legislation is the commitment to protect each vote and ensure that it counts - only once. While the local judge of elections may know me and many of my neighbors when we come into the poll, the same is not true in every community in Pennsylvania. This bill’s intent is to protect the integrity of the individual vote.
“Some have argued that it is inconvenient and cost-prohibitive for some people to show and secure personal identification. Keep in mind that photo IDs are currently required in many situations including driving a car, boarding an airplane, obtaining a hunting license, buying a gun and cashing a check. Adding your polling place to this list does not seem overly burdensome given the other activities that currently require personal identification. In terms of cost, the state will provide a free non-driver ID to those who do not possess other acceptable forms of identification.
“This measure aims to keep our election process honest and forthright. Voting is a right many have fought to preserve and it must be kept sacred. I look forward to the governor’s signature on this bill.”
Rep. Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster), Chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, said, “For three days Democrats poked very legitimate holes in the Voter ID legislation that passed the state House today and that is now on its way to the governor for his signature.
"Aside from the obvious obstacles erected for seniors, working Pennsylvanians, the disabled and college students to overcome in order to vote and the irresponsible costs associated with the measure, it is most troubling that the flaws with the plan were brought to light in advance of its Republican approval.
“There are several issues stemming from objections to photography by some of the Commonwealth’s religious communities, to the relative ease to produce fraudulent identification cards, as well as the lack of guidance or funding for some organizations, like care facilities, which could now be tasked with offering identification cards. The whole debate was a solution in search of a problem. There is virtually no evidence of voter ID fraud in Pennsylvania.
“The bill’s supporters, as well as its prime sponsor, were unable to answer rudimentary questions about how to determine if an ID card is authentic or even issued by an authorized provider, yet our state’s poll workers are expected to recognize a legitimate ID or risk legal action.
“It is almost guaranteed that this measure, once signed, will end up in the courts costing more taxpayer funds in a year where we can little afford such an expense. Just this week Texas’ voter identification law was rejected by the U.S. Department of Justice and Wisconsin’s law was ruled unconstitutional. Pennsylvania could have avoided the likely court review by simply voting to nonconcur with the Senate’s changes to the bill and working to solve the errors before it was passed.”
NewsClips:
