Pennsylvania’s Voter I.D. Law | True The Vote’s Catherine Englebrecht

Session host: Stephen K. Bannon | Session guest: Catherine Englebrecht

Catherine Englebrecht  founder and president of  True The Vote joins The Victory Sessions with host Stephen K. Bannon to discuss the state of Pennsylvania’s requirements for photo I.D. legislation.  FULL INTERVIEW!

By Tom Fitton

ACLU Challenges PA Voter ID Law; Judicial Watch Seeks Information on Possible DOJ Involvement

Four months to go before Election Day and Judicial Watch’s battle for election integrity continues in full force.

On July 17, 2012, we filed an amicus curiae brief with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in support of HB 934, a voter identification measure signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett on March 14, 2012. The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the law on behalf of various individuals, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and allied groups.

We jointly filed this brief with Pennsylvania Attorney L. Theodore Hopp Jr. on behalf of Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalf and members of the Pennsylvania legislature who supported the bill. Rep. Metcalf was the author and driving force behind the bill. Nearly half of the members who supported the bill are signed on to the Judicial Watch amicus.

You would think, given the response by the ACLU and NAACP, that the Pennsylvania law is a monstrous invasion of voting rights. But this claim is nothing more than political posturing and it has no basis in reality. Pennsylvania House Bill 934 is a simple, commonsense provision that maintains the integrity of every vote.

The law requires voters to produce a Pennsylvania driver’s license or another government-issued photo ID, such as a U.S. passport, military ID, or county/municipal employee ID when voting. If a prospective voter does not have a valid ID, the law requires the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to provide one at no cost.

In other words, the law asks voters to do no more than is required to board an airplane, use a credit card, or open a Netflix account.

Even if a voter shows up at the polling station without a valid ID, the law still protects their right to vote by allowing the individual without identification to cast a “provisional” ballot that will be counted if the identity of the voter can be indisputably ascertained within six business days of the election.

Here’s a brief squib from Judicial Watch’s amicus curiae brief:

In passing HB 934, the legislature did no more than exercise its sound discretion and create a commonsense regulatory scheme to secure free and equal elections. The legislature undoubtedly had such authority and used it accordingly.

In addition, because the legislature has the discretion to enact laws regulating elections, the courts must not overturn the policy choices of the legislative branch unless the legislature acts with gross abuse… In using its authority [the legislature] has not caused anyone to be disenfranchised, it has maintained and promoted free and equal elections, and it has not expanded upon the qualifications set forth in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

A trial over the legal challenge to the voter ID law is scheduled to begin on July 25, 2012.

“Voter photo identification is a commonsense safeguard that will ensure that legitimately cast votes are not canceled out by the forces of corruption,” said Pennsylvania State Representative Daryl Metcalfe in a statement to the press. “Implementation of HB 934 will restore integrity to Pennsylvania’s election process, because one fraudulently cast vote is one too many.”

via ACLU Challenges PA Voter ID Law; Judicial Watch Seeks Information on Possible DOJ Involvement.

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