Voters prepare for trial run of Pa. photo ID requirement

Pennsylvania’s Tuesday primary will serve as a dry run for the state’s new voter ID law. Voters will be asked for photo identification, but still will be allowed to cast a ballot without one.

 

Sandra Wheeler, a poll worker in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia, said she knows the law. Whether voters understand it, she expects there will be a good chance they’ll have the right ID with them.

“Sometimes, they bring them anyway,” Wheeler said.

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Northeast resident Sam Hann, who knows the law, said he hopes it will cut down on voter fraud.

“It seems to me that it would probably be a good idea to at least begin the recognition process that there’s one voter, one vote,” Hann said. “And I’d be very surprised how the election will start turning out in Philadelphia, had that been in place all along.”

The voter ID legislation sparked a debate about the scope of fraud. It also raised concerns about potentially disenfranchising older voters, who may not have a driver’s license or other photo ID, .and students whose university IDs may not have expiration dates.

Valid photo IDs include a Pennsylvania driver’s license, a passport and an ID from a Pennsylvania university that has a definite expiration date.

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