As a registered voter in PA, I have always been asked to show photo ID at my local polling location even when I know the people who are checking for my registration. So this becoming a law will not change anything for me. I don't see where this should be a problem unless the people who are complaining are planning on moving to PA.

it wont be a problem for pa, but in other places where showing id has not been required previously, it will cause unnecessary , unfruitful, and probably counterproductive extra efforts for millions of registered voters who do not have current ownership of a picture id (or the documents required to order one)....

phtttttttttttttt... liberal lies...

If they have the documents to register to vote then they would have the documents to get a photo ID. Yes it make take a little effort but then so does registering to vote or going to the polling place and standing in line. Those who want to exercise their right to vote will put up with the inconvenience. Those who use it as an excuse have probably never voted before anyway.

I disagree. We only have to register ONCE. From the time we register , over the years, anything could happen that may cause us to no longer have the id we used at registration. Asking people to rush in an election year to make that 'extra' effort may not be worth it to the large percentage who have in the past appreciated the convenience of going to their local shop or polling place and putting in their vote,,,,however, leaving the laws as they are will in the worst case continue the leas than ONE Percent of voting that is fraudulent

IMO, everyone should be fluent in Spanish to be able to vote and can prove they rode 2,000 miles in the trunk of their uncles car to get here.

Dang noone bit on my volant7 wanna be post,i am a terrible attention whore i will no longer apply my attempts of being a AH,i'm horrible at it.
Anyways really i don't see a problem with verification or ID when going to vote.If it's made into law then i just hope you don't get arrested for not having ID you're just told you can't vote.

First there is no rushing since it is not required for the primary election in April so they have until the November election. Second you cannot cash a check in a bank without showing ID so if they work or recieve any kind of aid from the state they must have a form of ID. I would say that most people have the ability to get the photo ID at no cost and it is up to them. If the state said that anyone who registers for a photo ID receives $10 you would have people making the effort even if they never planned on voting. I think the argument that it is an inconvenience is lame and that is only my opinion. However, I applaud our government for taking the stand that they want to make sure that the vote of people of our Commonwealth is not hijacked. What happens in other states is up to their residents.

you left out you cant get a job without ID, a library card, do anything at a bank, get any stickers for your car, check into a motel, get insurance, go to a doctor, register to vote, drive, get a cell phone, any utilities for your home, even to get a bus pass you need ID... so why wouldn't we need ID to cast a vote? and why is it just democrats are the ones that are so worried about it?

Because Democrats gain the most from voter fraud. Who do you think an illegal alien is going to vote for if he/she is just here to get what this country can offer.

No one benefits from voter fraud. PA is predominantly a Democrat state but that doesn't mean that we want to give everything away.

if your a democrat, your about the most sane one i've meet yet... hats off to ya

thank you but I think the majority of Americans are intelligent enough to see both sides. I believe big business has to be able to have some breaks in order to create jobs. I believe that intelligent Americans believe in lowering the corporate tax rate. I also believe that the working person should share in the fruits of a companies success and not give million dollar bonuses and stock options to those at the top and have people doing the work making barely enough to survive. So I think I am more a dreamer than someone who is sane but I will keep dreaming until Congress gets it right!

do you mean illegal aliens who dont even report crimes against them for fear of being 'deported'?

it just rarely happens,,,relatively speaking, and an ID law doesnt stop the frauds who do exist from continuing to defraud,,,but it will stop lawful people who just dont want to have to be required to put forth extra effort and money to take advantage of the right they registered to have

I for one am curious as to why the Democrats wish to block this.

It has a huge silver lining. When they start registering all those rural voters (so they have proper id) they will find the true reson why they don't have id.

They are being used for labor. No way the owners of the properties in question want these citizens to vote and so they pay them cash and no transportation to get the ID.

So they have become invisible.

i agree with everything you just said, but you need to remember that the senate and congress are just in it for themselves, not for the people that voted them in there. you are very sane, but in the same boat we are all in. dreamers are what makes things happen, we all have our dreams.

MARCH 12, 2012: GONZALEZ COMMENDS DOJ’S DECISION THAT TEXAS VOTER ID LAW WOULD DISENFRANCHISE REGISTERED VOTERS
San Antonio, Texas – Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) blocked a Texas Voter ID law passed by the Texas State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Rick Perry last year from taking effect because the state failed to show that the law did not have a discriminatory purpose or effect on minority voters. With 81 out of 254 Texas counties lacking an ID facility, the DOJ also cited the extreme difficulty for Texans in rural areas to obtain the necessary identification. Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, a long-time critic of the Texas law and other voter suppression laws, issued the following statement regarding the Texas Voter ID law and the DOJ’s decision:

“The Department of Justice made the correct decision in denying the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry in their attempt to enact a law that would disenfranchise registered voters, particularly the young, the disabled, and minorities. Voter suppression tactics like these are the weapons of the War on Voting. Our right to vote is enshrined in the Constitution and the Department of Justice is right to defend it this way. Attorneys at DOJ collected broad evidence that this law would have a disparate impact on minority voters. The Department gave Texas multiple chances to disprove this and the state failed to do so.

“President Bush spent five years and millions of dollars and couldn’t find evidence of voter fraud to justify laws like this. In 2006 Texas Attorney General Abbott was unable to name a single case of fraud that would have been stopped by a voter ID. The Republican legislators behind Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law were equally unable to cite a single case. That’s because voter ID laws attempt to solve a problem that does not exist. But they create a very real problem, threatening the voting rights of millions of Americans, hundreds of thousands of Texans, and tens of thousands of San Antonians.

“The 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments to the Constitution all protect our right to vote. But even after today’s announcement, that right is still under attack and the War on Voting continues. Texas has sued the United States to gain permission to put this law into effect. Since the 2010 elections, states across the country have introduced and adopted laws making it harder for people to vote. Our rights are under attack and we must all work together to defend them.

“The right to vote is just that: a right. It must be protected.”

Any cost that is affiliated with procuring an ID for the purpose of voting is considered a poll tax - quite illegal.

One of the Southern States can't remember which one, put in thier law that a State photo ID would be free. I find that very hard to believe - the cost to the state would be incredible and with no valid evidence of voter fraud, it's not likely that the voter ID law is motivated by anything less than discrimination.

Perhaps,like Texas, the locations to obtain state photo ID's are inaccessable to rural areas that are predominantly minority populated.

Student ID's have proved to be at issue because students are not always residents of the state in which they attend college. Oddly enough, most of the polls of college students indicate they are majority Democrats.

There is one state that allowed student ID from State Colleges but not from private colleges - the largest private colleges in the state were known to have quite liberal students.

It's difficult to read the courts reasoning for striking down these laws, and the legal documentation provided by representatives fighting these laws, without coming to the conclusion that there is an agenda and it is not to avoid voter fraud but to perpitrate it under the name of law.

Here is the actual law in Texas. It is simple, fair, and easy for anyone and everyone.

"Registering to vote is easy in Texas. It doesn't even require a stamp! Official applications to register to vote are postage-paid by the State of Texas.

In most Texas counties, the County Tax Assessor-Collector is also the County Voter Registrar. In some counties, the County Clerk or County Elections Administrator registers voters. You may obtain an application from the County Voter Registrar's office, the Secretary of State's Office, libraries, many post offices, or high schools. From our website, you may request that we send you an official, postage-paid application. Or, you may download an informal application, but you will be required to affix a stamp before mailing. You may also register to vote when you apply for or renew your driver's license.

Read the instructions on the form, fill it out and mail it postage-free to the County Voter Registrar, or hand-deliver it to the County Voter Registrar's office.

You must be at least 17 years and 10 months of age on the date you apply. If for any reason you cannot register yourself, with your permission, your spouse, parent or child may fill out and sign an application for you if that person is a registered voter or has applied for voter registration. This person is known as your "agent."

The application must be received in the County Voter Registrar's office or postmarked 30 days before an election in order for you to be eligible to vote in that election. You will receive a voter registration certificate in the mail after the County Voter Registrar has processed your voter registration application. Upon receipt of the voter registration certificate, sign it, fold it and keep in it in your wallet and take it to the polls with you when you vote.

All voters who registered to vote in Texas must provide a Texas driver's license number or personal identification number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety or the last four digits of your social security number. If you have not been issued any of these numbers, then you must state that fact on the application by checking the designated box.
What if I don't have a driver's license, personal identification number, OR a social security number? Can I still register to vote in Texas?

A voter who has not been issued a driver’s license or social security number may register to vote, but such voter must submit proof of identification when presenting himself/herself for voting or with his/her mail-in ballots, if voting by mail. These voters’ names are flagged on the official voter registration list with the annotation of “ID.” The “ID” notation instructs the poll worker to request a proper form of identification from these voters when they present themselves for voting. Acceptable identification includes:

a driver's license or personal identification card issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety or a similar document issued to the person by an agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card has expired;
a form of identification containing the person's photograph that establishes the person's identity;
a birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the person's identity;
United States citizenship papers issued to the person;
a United States passport issued to the person;
official mail addressed to the person by name from a governmental entity;
a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter; or
any other form of identification prescribed by the Secretary of State."

End Quote:

There have been numerous "reports" of Hispanics bringing groups of Hispanics to Texas polling locations to vote without ID. Oddly, these "voters" speak little or no English! The generally accepted truth behind this practice is Democrats bringing illegals in to vote democratic. In the past it has been Democrats bringing in bums to vote as dead people (very popular in Louisiana) or groups of the elderly from old folks homes after a crash course in how the Republicans are going to end Social Security unless they vote NOW!" (this tacit works so well it is now on national TV!)

The reality is that the Democrats don't want ID's to be required because it would hurt some of their illegal methods to "create" Democratic votes from thin air.

the fees that are charged are not for voting purposes, but to have an ID... i have previously list just a few things that people have to have an ID for, which is practically everything. and if was something to do with legalities, then some people besides the democrats would be opposed to it also...