2/2/2006 - Stop concurrence of HB1318
From: Elizabeth Milner, LWVPA President, info@palwv.org

ACTION ALERT--HB 1318 PASSED BY THE HOUSE YESTERDAY

As you may already be aware the House in a clearly partisan vote (105 Republicans in favor and 85 Democrats opposed) passed HB 1318, the Voter Identification Bill. It now moves to the Senate for concurrence. The State office has communicated with the Lt. Governor asking her to encourage the Governor to veto the Bill if passed by the Senate. Another message was directed to the Governor asking him to veto the Bill if it comes before him.

League Action: Please contact your Senate members using information provided below asking him/her to vote against concurrence of HB 1318. Also contact the Governor asking him to veto the bill if it comes before him. This may happen as early as Monday, so please do not delay in your efforts to stop this bill from becoming a law. The following background information may prove useful to you.

Voter ID Legislation--A Solution in Search of a Problem: Various proposals are making their way through state legislatures including Pennsylvania that would disenfranchise voters such as PA House Bill 1318. Supporters of this legislation claim voter identification is needed to prevent widespread voter fraud. Yet proponents have failed to document reliable proof that the integrity of any Pennsylvania election has been compromised by someone impersonating a registered voter. In fact, virtually every documented case has been committed by individuals associated with political campaigns.
Coalitions of advocacy groups with whom LWVPA works on HAVA-related issues agree that the ID requirement would selectively disenfranchise certain segments of the population—those who do not have identification because they do not drive, go to school, or engage in activities under which they would be issued an ID. Although the bill provides for free IDs for voting purposes, this provision creates two classes of voters: those who have the required ID as a matter of course, and those who apply for an ID in order to vote. Obtaining an ID would create a hardship for many, particularly the elderly and the poor.

The issue is about more than what type of ID and when it would be required. The major issue is the consequence of not having the ID. Under current law the voter without ID would be given a provisional ballot that would be counted if signatures match and if the individual was registered to vote.

Persons within the Pennsylvania community of 100,000 Pennsylvanians with disabilities who live in nursing homes, personal care facilities, and group homes almost never have many of the acceptable forms of identification such as a valid student ID, employee ID, gun permit, current utility bill, bank statement, valid driver’s license or US passport. The issue isn’t about whether individuals can prove their identity, but rather whether they can produce an acceptable form of identification. More than 23% of Pennsylvania’s polling places are certified as inaccessible to people with disabilities. Proponents of voter identification bills claim they want to guard against voter fraud. The League maintains that this legislation is a thinly-veiled attempt to prevent people from exercising their right to vote in Pennsylvania. If it is passed in the Senate in the same manner by which it was passed in the House, we strongly urge the Governor to veto it.

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