Voting Rights Under Fire by Donathan L. Brown & MICHAEL L. CLEMONS

Author:Donathan L. Brown & MICHAEL L. CLEMONS [DONATHAN L. BROWN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781440832482
Publisher: ABC-CLIO

Chapter 4

Controversy in the Keystone State: A Pennsylvania Story

The 2008 Supreme Court case of Crawford v. Marion County paved the way for the continuation of voter identification laws across the country, as the Court rejected the claim that requiring voters to present photo identification did not rise to merits of an unconstitutional or unjust burden. With Indiana proving to be a legal and political model of success, at least for proponents of voter ID laws, Republican state officials in Pennsylvania sought to transplant and apply much of the same restrictions upon voters in their state in March of 2012. Following three days of debate, largely led by Democrats likening Pennsylvania’s voter identification law with a new wave of Jim Crow, the Grand Old Party (GOP)-led state House of Representatives, passed the measure by a 104–88 vote, where it then advanced and passed the GOP-controlled Senate. As constructed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives under House Bill 934, this law would require “proof of identification.” The new law amended the Pennsylvania election code by adding numerous sections and subsections all pertaining to defining what does and does not qualify as acceptable forms of identification.

Each new section and subsection of the law went to great lengths to articulate acceptable documents and procedures for voting. Under Section 102, for instance, voters must show photo identification (either state or federally issued) that includes an expiration date that is either not expired or expired after the date of the most recent general election. Section 206 of the proposed law charged the secretary of the Commonwealth with “preparing and disseminating” information to the public regarding the new addendum under Section 102. Much like the Indiana law, Pennsylvania lawmakers in Section 206(b) directed the state Department of Transportation to, at no cost, provide any registered voter who has “made application therefor and has included with the completed application a signed affidavit stating that the elector is unable to obtain another form of photo identification . . . that the elector is unable to pay the required fee for the identification card and that elector is a registered elector.”1 Again, like Indiana, in order to qualify for the free identification card, voters must provide a social security card in addition to one of the following: certificate of U.S. citizenship, certificate of naturalization, birth certificate with raised seal plus two proofs of residency, such as lease agreement, current utility bills, mortgage documents, W-2 form, or tax records. In attempts to duck charges of disenfranchisement, the law also contained subsections pertaining to students, “other individuals,” and those who are homeless. For college students, permitted documents include residence hall room assignment paperwork, one bill with their dorm room and address on it, along with bank statements, paystubs, and credit card bills. Those classified as “other individuals” are those without bills, leases, or mortgages in their name. Here, these individuals can bring the person they reside with along with that person’s driver’s license or photo identification along with one piece of official mail with their name and address.

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