Tagged: Voter ID

September 17, 2012 - With federal and statewide elections around the corner, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is taking a hard look at the state's voter ID law. With few exceptions, the law requires PA voters to show a qualifying photo ID to get into the voting booth. Will it be effective on Tuesday, November 6th?  That question was the focus of oral argument before the Commonwealth's High Court last week. WRTI's Meridee Duddleston presents a glimpse of the session. The hearing was broadcast by Pennsylvania Cable Network. Updates below...

Pennsylvania's politically split Supreme Court is considering a challenge to a lower court ruling that upheld the state's polarizing voter identification law.

The law requires a state-issued photo ID card to vote, and supporters say it will help prevent voter fraud. Voting-rights activists have now shifted strategies from attempting to overturn the law, to instead putting up to a million state-issued photo ID cards in the hands of residents.

State officials recently estimated it is possible nearly 200,000 Philadelphia residents alone don't have proper ID.

While supporters and opponents of Pennsylvania's new voter identification law look to the courts for a decision on implementing the regulations, citizen's groups and the state are preparing for election day. WRTI's Jim Hilgen talks to Keesha Gaskins, senior counsel for the Democracy Program at NYU School of Law Brennan Center for Justice, for an outsider's perspective on the law and the challenges in securing the needed ID for Pennsylvania voters.