This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/pennsylvania-judge-delays-implementation-of-voter-id-law.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Key Part of Voter ID Law in Pennsylvania Delayed for Election Voter ID Rules Fail Court Tests Across Country
(about 3 hours later)
A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday delayed full implementation of a highly contested state law requiring strict photographic identification to vote in next month’s election, saying that the authorities had not done enough to ensure that potential voters had access to the new documents. A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked the key component of a highly contested state law requiring strict photographic identification to vote in next month’s election, saying the authorities had not done enough to ensure that voters had access to the new documents.
The judge, Robert Simpson, who upheld the law in August when it was challenged by liberal and civil rights groups, was instructed by the state’s Supreme Court two weeks ago to hold further hearings. He was told to focus on the question of whether enough had been done to ensure “liberal access” to the picture ID cards or alternatives. The result, that Pennsylvanians will not have to present a state-approved ID to vote in November, was the latest and most significant in a series of legal victories for those opposed to laws that they charge would limit access to polls in this presidential election. With only a month left until Election Day, disputes around the country over new voter ID requirements, early voting, provisional ballots and registration drives are looking far less significant.
Judge Simpson said in his Tuesday ruling that for the presidential election of Nov. 6, voters in Pennsylvania could be asked to produce the newly required photo IDs, but if they did not have them could still go ahead and vote. The decision could be appealed to the State Supreme Court. “Every voter restriction that has been challenged this year has been either enjoined, blocked or weakened,” said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice, which is part of the New York University School of Law and opposes such restrictions. “It has been an extraordinary string of victories for those opposing these laws.”
“While we’re happy that voters in Pennsylvania will not be turned away if they do not have an ID, we are concerned that the ruling will allow election workers to ask for ID at the polls and this could cause confusion,” said Penda D. Hair, co-director of Advancement Project, one of the groups that challenged the law. “This injunction serves as a mere Band-Aid for the law’s inherent problems, not an effective remedy.” Voter ID laws have been taken off the table in Texas and Wisconsin. The Justice Department has blocked such a law in South Carolina, which has appealed in federal court. In Florida and Ohio, early voting and voter-registration drives have been largely restored. New Hampshire is going ahead with its law, but voters who do not have the required document will be permitted to vote and have a month to verify their identity.
The Pennsylvania law, passed in the spring without any Democratic support, is one of 11 similar laws around the country passed by Republican-dominated legislatures. The laws’ backers say they are trying to ensure the integrity of the electoral process by preventing fraud. But Democrats accuse them of seeking to suppress the votes of the poor and members of minority groups who tend to have neither the needed ID nor the means to go to state offices and obtain one and who tend to vote Democratic. Strict voter ID laws remain in Kansas, Indiana, Georgia and Tennessee, but they are not seen as battleground states. And while Pennsylvania seems likely to institute a version of its law in the coming year, it will not affect this election.
In opinion surveys, substantial majorities of Americans back the voter ID requirements despite the fact that repeated efforts to demonstrate the existence of in-person voter fraud have shown there to be very little of it. The Pennsylvania judge who ruled on Tuesday, Robert Simpson of Commonwealth Court, had upheld the law in August when liberal-leaning and civil rights groups challenged it. But the state’s Supreme Court instructed him two weeks ago to hold further hearings to focus on whether enough had been done to ensure “liberal access” to the picture ID cards, which are available at driver’s license centers, or alternatives.
Pennsylvania is one of a number of swing states that could make the difference in the presidential race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, especially if the count is close. Increasingly, however, Mr. Obama, who won Pennsylvania in 2008, has been pulling far ahead of Mr. Romney in key states. A Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News poll last week showed Mr. Obama ahead in Pennsylvania by 12 points. Judge Simpson said that on Nov. 6, voters in Pennsylvania could be asked to produce the newly required photo ID but, if they did not have one, could still vote on a normal voting machine, not using a provisional ballot. The state may appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court, but few predicted victory for it, given what the justices had asked of the lower court.
With a month left before the election, voter ID requirements around the country were looking far less significant than they once had. They have been taken off the table in Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin although the Wisconsin law remains under judicial review. The Justice Department permitted New Hampshire to go ahead with its voter ID law, but those who do not have the required document will be permitted to vote and have a month to verify their identity. The law’s opponents said the victory was only a partial one.
The Pennsylvania law’s challengers said that their focus over the coming month would be to press the state to alter its voter education campaign to make clear that no picture ID is in fact required to vote in the upcoming election. “While we’re happy that voters in Pennsylvania will not be turned away if they do not have an ID, we are concerned that the ruling will allow election workers to ask for ID at the polls, and this could cause confusion,” said Penda D. Hair, co-director of Advancement Project, one of the groups that challenged the law. “This injunction serves as a mere Band-Aid for the law’s inherent problems, not an effective remedy.”
“This is a big win in that no one will be turned away on Election Day because they don’t have the new strict voter ID,” said Benjamin D. Geffen, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, which took part in the law’s challenge. “The state has a large budget to spend on advertising this fact, and we want to make sure it does it.” Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation, a right-of-center research group that supports the law, said: “While this may seem to be a win for opponents of common-sense election reform efforts like voter ID, it is actually a loss.”
Nick Winkler, director of public relations for Pennsylvania’s department of state, said there would indeed be a change in what voters were told and in how poll workers would be trained for next month. “The court simply found that the state could not effectively implement the ID requirement in only a month,” he added. “The law is still in place and remains valid.”
The Pennsylvania law, passed in March without any Democratic support, is one of 11 similar laws around the country approved by Republican-dominated legislatures. The laws’ backers say they are trying to ensure the integrity of the electoral process by preventing fraud. But Democrats accuse them of seeking to suppress the votes of the poor and members of minority groups, who are less likely to have the needed ID or the means to go to state offices and obtain one, and who tend to vote Democratic.
In opinion surveys, substantial majorities of Americans back the ID requirements even though repeated efforts to demonstrate the existence of in-person voter fraud have found very little.
Pennsylvania is one of a number of swing states that could make the difference in the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate. Increasingly, however, Mr. Obama, who won Pennsylvania in 2008, has been pulling consistently ahead of Mr. Romney in key states. A Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS News poll released last week showed Mr. Obama ahead in Pennsylvania by 12 points.
The Pennsylvania law’s challengers said their focus now would be to press the state to alter its voter education campaign to make clear that no picture ID is required in this election.
“The state has a large budget to spend on advertising this fact, and we want to make sure it does it,” said Benjamin D. Geffen, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, which took part in the law’s challenge.
Nick Winkler, director of public relations for Pennsylvania’s Department of State, said there would indeed be a change.
“Our education campaign is in full swing, and all we have to do is retool it from talking about requiring voter ID to requesting it,” he said. “Poll worker training has not begun in some counties and will now take this into account as well.”“Our education campaign is in full swing, and all we have to do is retool it from talking about requiring voter ID to requesting it,” he said. “Poll worker training has not begun in some counties and will now take this into account as well.”
Mr. Winkler said the state had not yet decided whether to appeal the decision. The state has issued 13,000 IDs purely for the purpose of voting, Mr. Winkler said.
He said that a total of 13,000 alternative ID’s had been issued by the state purely for the purpose of voting and that state colleges and universities were updating their student ID cards to make them eligible forms for their holders to use at the polls. The state law permits about eight kinds of ID to be shown at the polls. Judge Simpson said in his Tuesday decision that the issuing of the new documents across the state had not been fast enough.
But Judge Simpson said in his Tuesday decision that the issuing of the new documents across the state had not been fast enough. “I expected more photo IDs to have been issued by this time,” he wrote. “Under these circumstances, I am obliged to enter a preliminary injunction” preventing the law from being fully carried out. He said there might eventually be a full trial to determine whether the law could be put into effect in a way that did not burden voters.
“I expected more photo IDs to have been issued by this time,” he wrote. “Under these circumstances, I am obliged to enter a preliminary injunction” preventing the law from being fully implemented.
He said he did not consider the mere asking for photo ID to be a problem, only the availability of the documents and only for the coming election. During two days of hearings last week he heard stories of voters waiting hours to obtain their IDs and being forced to return more than once to the appropriate office.
He said that the challengers to the law argued that the state had not made provisions for the ID to be obtained easily even after November 6th and he would begin planning for a trial to examine the need for a permanent injunction against the law. He added that if he had misunderstood the Supreme Court’s instructions on this point, he would appreciate further guidance from it.
At the State Supreme Court hearings, the lawyers for the liberal groups said that, in theory, a voter ID law could pass constitutional muster if the document were truly easily available, but that Pennsylvania had not taken steps to ensure that as of now.