Center City poll worker: voter ID system ‘doesn’t need to be corrected’

It’s a busy day for candidates and a busy day for poll workers.

And our partners at Philadelphia Weekly caught up with some poll workers in Center City to ask about the voter ID law, the hot topic during this year’s elections.

Shirley Sobel was working at a polling place in Center City when she gave PW her opinion of the ID law, which is meant to curb voter fraud: “They’re trying to correct something that doesn’t need to be corrected.”

Today’s primary is a dry-run for the law, which goes into full effect for the general election in November.

Critics say the bill will make voting harder for the populations who already have a hard time getting to the polls: the elderly, poor, certain religious groups and young people with improper IDs.

 

Reports from the Committee of Seventy, meanwhile, indicate not all poll workers understand the new ID regulations. Voters in the 5th ward/18th division were given misinformation about the types of permitted ID, and in the 1st ward/15th division, at least one voter was not asked to show ID.

And in some parts of the city, it’s business as usual. While stopped at Port Richmond polling center, WHYY/NewsWorks reporter Emma Jacobs said the first woman to show up wanted to make sure her bingo is still on for today.

Following elections in Northwest Philly? Our hyperlocal editors are keeping tabs with a blog and photo gallery.