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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 15, 2013 10:36 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Dwight Evans |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Re-introduction of Repeal Voter ID Law |
| I, along with Representative Ron Waters plan to re-introduce legislation repealing the Voter ID Law, Act 18 of 2012. As you may know, proponents of the Voter ID Law proclaimed that it was necessary to prevent voter fraud. However, numerous independent fact finders were unable to find a single case where an individual was convicted of a crime involving voter fraud in the last five years, despite an exhaustive search of court documents and other records. Although the bill requires that free IDs be provided to indigent voters who do not possess the necessary identification, the fact remains that this law puts onerous barriers to voting and is aimed at disenfranchising our most vulnerable citizens: the elderly, the young and the poor. At best, this law is a costly, inefficient and superfluous solution searching for a non-existent problem. At worst, it is a throwback to the days of poll taxes and literacy tests which were designed to discriminate against poor and minority voters, forcing honest, hard-working Pennsylvanians to travel great distances to obtain identification to exercise a fundamental right deeply entrenched in the marrow of our shared history as a republic. A year after passage of the law, less than 20,000 people have been able to obtain one of these voter IDs. The most conservative estimate is that there are at least 100,000 people without IDs. So if you do the math, there are at least 80,000 people who still need ID to vote. I urge you to join us in the effort to repeal this unnecessary and costly law. |
Introduced as HB1675