State Voter ID Law Heads to Court Monday

Pennsylvania's voter identification law will be in state court on Monday, where a judge will decide if it violates the state’s constitution.

The bill, signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett in March of last year, requires all voters to show a valid form of photo identification in order to vote. Its implementation was delayed by a Pennsylvania judge just prior to the 2012 General Election.

Supporters of the law say requiring photo identification to vote is a common-sense way to avoid voter fraud in Pennsylvania. 

In May of 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union appealed the law as unconstitutional, stating it “severely burdens the rights of qualified voters.”

Vivian Applewhite, 93, of Philadelphia, was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. A voter since 1960, Applewhite said she had none of the documents necessary to obtain photo identification and would be unable to vote when the law was enforced.

In October, the Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai added fuel to the anti-voter ID argument after saying the bill was going to ‘allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”

Several Montgomery County officials and residents also opposed the bill; one blogger recounted her attempt to obtain a voter ID for a veteran.

To mitigate the impact on voters in the county, officials announced a voter identification card program allowing registered voters  to obtain a county-issued identification card by providing documents such as a current bank statement or a paycheck.

The trial is expected to last roughly nine days in front of Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley; the losing side of the case can appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court.

Similar voter ID laws have had varied fates throughout the United States – Texas and Wisconsin had their voter identification laws ruled unconstitutional by federal and state courts last year, but in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Indiana’s law on photo identification to be enforced.