ACLU challenges Pa. voter ID law
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s new voter identification law was challenged in court Tuesday by 10 registered voters, including some who say they are unable to get the kind of ID required and one woman who said she had to pay for one despite the law’s promise of a free photo ID.
The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court, said the law violates the state constitution’s “free and equal” elections clause and another clause that establishes qualifications to vote in Pennsylvania.
“Many otherwise qualified voters will face great difficulty or be unable to obtain the necessary ID and will therefore be disenfranchised in the upcoming general election and future elections,” the suit said. “As a result, far from protecting the integrity of Pennsylvania elections, the photo ID law will lead to elections that are no longer free and equal.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction that halts the enforcement of the law and documents examples of people having a hard time getting the free photo ID that the state promises under the law. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia are helping represent the plaintiffs.
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