Nutter urges continued effort to get voters registered

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will take up a challenge of the state’s voter ID law Thursday. In the meantime, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says community advocates must stay focused on reaching out to voters.

The mayor addressed a roomful of the Voter ID Coalition members Tuesday to stress that message.

“We have 58 days to focus everyone’s attention on the most important right that we’ve ever had,” Nutter said. “Access to the ballot box is the most important equalizer in America.”

The bipartisan Voter ID Coalition has 175 member organizations. With less than two months to go before the election, its efforts have taken on a new urgency.

Opponents say that the law’s impact will be most dearly felt in Philadelphia, which has larger numbers of elderly and minority voters who may lack the photo identification needed at the polls.

State-issued IDs will be the go-to identification for most voters.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation has announced that it will keep a handful of Philadelphia driver’s license centers open late on Thursdays through the general election.

Nutter said he’d like to see more extended hours and the creation of mobile ID booths.

The state’s high court has been asked to delay implementation of the law until after November.