Testimony on ID difficulties continues in Pa. voter case

Day four of the court hearing on Pennsylvania’s new photo identification requirement at the polls brought testimony from opponents of the law who say name discrepancies on key documents have made it too difficult for them to get photo ID they’ll need to vote this fall.

Tia Sutter’s voter registration card doesn’t match the name on her birth certificate — Christine Sutter.

She says she never expected it to be a problem.

“I mean, I have a voter registration card, so when I first heard about the law, I thought, oh well, photo ID, but that’s for (other) people, ’cause I’m sure tons of people don’t have their voter ID — registration cards. But I have mine, so that’s not going to be a problem for me,” Sutter said Monday. “But it is.”

Also taking the stand was Jonathan Marks, a Department of State employee who oversees elections programs.

Judge Robert Simpson posed a rare question from the bench to Marks.

If the law were blocked from implementation, and then the Supreme Court deemed it was constitutional right before the November election, would the state have trouble implementing it, asked Simpson.

Marks said the time frame would be “very tight.”