Awaiting voter ID ruling, Corbett insists law poses no hardship

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert E. Simpson Jr. who heard the request to block Pennsylvania’s voter ID law expects to rule this week.

In the meantime, Gov. Tom Corbett is defending the law and decrying its detractors.

Corbett chides the parties suing the state, implying they’re wasting time trying to block the law he says is being implemented to ensure it doesn’t negatively affect registered voters.

“What we heard in the testimony in the courtroom were the people saying, ‘Well we can’t, they can’t get their photo ID,’ and they were there in the courtroom, rather than (saying), ‘We can help you get a photo ID,'” Corbett said Monday.

The Commonwealth Secretary took a similar tone with those protesting the voter ID law who gathered at the Capitol the day before the law’s hearing began in Commonwealth Court.

Secretary Carol Aichele suggested opponents of the law should be focusing their energy on helping people get photo ID.

Lawyers challenging the law say it impinges on the right to vote, especially for the poor, the elderly, and minority voters.

All of the state system schools have committed to altering their student IDs to be acceptable at the polls, and many state-supported and private colleges have said they’ll do the same.

Photo IDs from nursing homes, military IDs, and employee IDs issued by federal, state, or local government are also valid, provided they meet the law’s specifications.

Both sides have vowed to appeal Simpson’s ruling to the state Supreme Court.