A bill requiring voters to present government-issued, photo voter ID is being heard in a Pennsylvania House Committee today and Project Vote submitted testimony in opposition of the restrictive measure.
The bill, HB 934 “constitutes a direct threat to the voting rights of many of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens, who, to add insult to injury, would be forced to pay for implementation of this proposal to the tune of millions of dollars.”
According to the testimony, the bill’s most troubling issues are the following:
“Free ID” that isn’t Free
The bill requires the Dept. of Transportation to issue free ID to any registered voter who swears he cannot pay for it. But, this provision avoids the underlying identification and costs required for issuance of such a card. For example, a birth certificate in Pennsylvania costs $10 ” a fee that is not trivial to young, minority, or low-income citizens. Further, the process of obtaining such a document is an additional burden to those without the ability to order it online or appear in person at the regional office of the Department of Health.”
Inconveniencing Voters
The bill allows voters who do not present ID to sign an affidavit, however they won’t be able to sign it until after the election, after casting a provisional ballot. “Why such affidavits cannot be executed at the time the voter appears at the polling place is not clear—it seems as if the bill’s sponsors affirmatively desire the voter without an ID to be as inconvenienced as possible.”
Big Cost with No Budget (or Problem)
The state has an estimated budget shortfall of up to $5 billion in the coming fiscal year. With a “free ID” provision, and the cost of implementing a new voter ID law, “one cannot imagine a worse time to enact such a costly provision, especially because it is completely unnecessary. There is absolutely no evidence of a widespread problem of voter impersonation fraud in Pennsylvania.”
The hearing is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. in Room G50, Irvis Office.
One Responses to “Project Vote Opposes Unnecessary, Costly Voter ID Bill in Penn.”
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The reality is that the GOP has the votes to pass this legislation and no amount of phone calls or emails is going to move them on it. So, what can we do to fix this?
1. find out how many people would be affected by this – look at voter roles, unemployment and other assistance registers, etc. Now you know who needs help and, additionally, you’ll havea list of people who should vote but don’t.
2. Perform GOTV across the state, knocking on doors and explaining to people that the GOP is trying to steal their vote and we are here to help make sure that doesn’t happen. Provide them with the requisite paperwork. You get not only current voters, but new voters with legitimate ID that cannot be challenged on election day.
3. Now you’ll know how much money that needs to be raised for everyone to afford the birth cert or other ID necessary to get their voter ID.
4. Attempt to get at least that amount of money, either via legislation or donations by progressive donors, to pay to get all these voters (current and new) proper ID.
It is a big effort, but well worth it as we increase our own constituency.