Posted: | December 2, 2022 04:21 PM |
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From: | Senator Judy Ward |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Voter ID Law |
Soon I will be reintroducing legislation that will require voter ID every time a voter goes to vote, regardless of if it is in person or through the mail. This was Senate Bill 422 of the 2021-22 session. The premise behind voter ID laws is to ensure that individuals are not misrepresenting themselves when voting and, thus, potentially negating the votes of others. Voter ID laws can also serve to increase public confidence in the election process. In light of challenges to photo ID laws in other states and a Commonwealth Court ruling that nullified Pennsylvania’s 2012 voter ID law, I am proposing a bill that applies the voter ID requirement to each and every election and includes both photo and non-photo options on the list of acceptable forms of ID. Under my proposal, the forms of ID that will be acceptable are the same as the options that are currently available to first-time voters in the Commonwealth. They include the following forms of photo and non-photo ID:
If a voter is unable to present a valid photo ID, he or she will be required to present two forms of non-photo ID from among those listed above. I believe that this approach strikes a balance between the goal of protecting the integrity of each vote cast and the goal of ensuring that eligible voters possess or can obtain necessary valid ID. At the present time, a total of 35 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, all of which were in force in 2018. Among these states, Ohio, Arizona and North Dakota permit both photo and non-photo ID. Cosponsors of Senate Bill 422 were Senators Argall, Aument, Brooks, Martin, Mastriano, Pittman, Regan and Stefano. Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation. If you have questions regarding this legislation please reach out to Greg Beckenbaugh in my office at 717-787-5490 or gbeckenbaug@pasen.gov. |