A Pennsylvania judge barred enforcement of the state’s voter photo-identification law until after the November election. Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson today said that while election officials can ask for ID on Election Day, voters without ID can still cast ballots and have them counted. Previously the law had given those voters six days after the election to get ID to have their provisional ballots counted. Enacted in March, the law requires voters to present a state-issued ID, or an acceptable alternative such as a military ID, to cast a ballot. Opponents of the law said probable Democratic voters, such as the elderly and the poor, were those least likely to have a valid ID by Election Day.
“In many respects, it’s a victory,” David Gersch, an attorney with Arnold & Porter LLP who represented the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a phone interview. “What he says is you don’t have to have an ID to vote in November.”
In August, the Pennsylvania Department of State began offering new ID cards as a last resort for those unable to obtain a valid substitute. Simpson said today that voters could apply for the alternative ID without first trying to obtain one from the state Department of Transportation.
Full Article: Pennsylvania Judge Bars Voter-ID Law for 2012 Election – Businessweek.