Judge halts Pa.'s tough new voter ID requirement

[trailmonkee]

Source: ap

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A judge is postponing Pennsylvania's tough new voter identification requirement, ordering that it not be enforced in the presidential election.

Tuesday's ruling comes just five weeks before the election. An appeal is possible. The 6-month-old law requires each voter to show a valid photo ID.

Democrats and groups including the AARP and NAACP mounted a furious opposition to a law Republicans say is necessary to prevent election fraud. Critics have accused Republicans of using old-fashioned Jim Crow tactics to steal the White House and have highlighted stories of registered voters struggling to get a state photo ID.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gofwU6p1wVa1q_XloJpJkhL2jy8Q?docId=7eb8b0ee54b0499c9caa9776c1eba958

[OldDem2012]

1. Also being reported now on MSNBC! Victory!! nt.

[onehandle]

2. What? I drove ten miles and waited almost four hours for nothing!?

Good.

[davidpdx]

3. Cool that's one more safe state, now we have to keep moving on all the other states that have

screwed up rules.

[Efilroft Sul]

4. Best news of the day!

[qanda]

5. Am I reading this wrong or will people without ID be issued a provisional ballot?

Doesn't sound like much of a win if that's the case.

On Edit: Never mind, there was some confusion from a post I read from the Post-Gazette on Facebook where they were talking about a partial injunction. Glad to see that it's completely halted.

[leftynyc]

8. I don't see anything in that article

about provisional ballots. Where are you getting that info?

[trailmonkee]

11. It looks like the entire long has been halted

[mindfulNJ]

12. I don't see that in the article

[SoapBox]

29. Regarding the provisional ballots...

this from ThinkProgress.org:

"Buried in the opinion is a line establishing that the requirement that voters without IDs cast only provisional ballots will also not be in effect during the November election. After describing a “transition” provision from January 1, 2012 until September 17, 2012 where voters who do not show ID may cast a ballot “without the necessity of casting a provisional ballot,” the judge concludes that “the injunction will have the effect of extending the express transition provisions of Act 18 through the general election.” The impact of this line is that voters without ID will cast normal, not provisional, ballots this November, but they will still be asked for ID."

[Cosmocat]

46. The judge floated that

Some things he initially said indicated a full suspension.

He then said some things that indicated a partial suspension based on extending the period that provisional ballots would have to be counted.

This clown has no idea the chaos that level of provisional ballots would cause, and also in his ruling no idea how they work in most counties.

Hopefully, the powers to be realized it was too much to hammer this through in a presidential and redirected him.

[underpants]

52. No provisional ballot but they can still be asked for ID

the judge is a jerk - he had to rule this way so he left that in there as means of adding confusion and intimidation

[October]

55. Right? Am I wrong, or is it that they can ASK for ID, but you don't have to give it???? WTF?

This is so odd.

It's a victory, but leaves too much room for abuse IMHO.

[robinlynne]

58. EXACTLY. not a great ruling.

[mindfulNJ]

6. Fantastic!!

Hope this holds up..."An appeal is possible"

[lonestarnot]

7. Way yat!

[diabeticman]

9. Living in PA that is a HUGE news for me. I have ID but I worried about serveral friends who don't

[maddiemom]

26. Here in PA, I've heard rumours such as you can be denied the right to vote

if your voter registration has your middle initial and your driver's license has your complete middle name. Ridiculous, I know, but even though I volunteer with the local Obama campaign, no one can confidently answer that question. Thank you, Republicans, for any confusion that you can add.

[WinkyDink]

39. YOU DON'T NEED AN ID, so "middle initial" is a non-issue. Question:

Why do you spell "rumors" in the Canadian/British fashion, if you are "here in PA"?

[maddiemom]

42. Multicultural

[Jim__]

10. Great news!

[chillfactor]

13. Best news of the day!!!!!

Now on to other states to do the same thing!

[sellitman]

14. Welcome to DU

Nice to enter to such good news. Someday history will not be kind to the efforts of the GOP to stop the vote among minorities ,students and the elderly.

They will either have to change their platform or be relegated to the dust bin of history.

[ywcachieve]

60. Minorities have ID.

[sellitman]

63. Do you have pizza delivery?

What does "Minorities have ID" mean?

[barnabas63]

15. Appeal?

If they try to get this appealed hopefully they couldn't get it overturned in time for the election. Anyone have insight on that process and timeline?

[PRETZEL]

19. I'm not sure they'd appeal,

but, who am I to say.

As I read the article, what Simpson said is that the law itself is not unconstitutional, but the procedures that were in place did not leave sufficient time for total implimentation, thus leaving open the possibility for disenfranchisement.

[AndyTiedye]

43. Of Course They Will Appeal

It's not as though the Repig superPACs are in any danger of running out of money.

They'll probably go for another of the USSC's famous "emergency" rulings to get this reinstated in time for the elections.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

59. PA Rep. Daryl Metcalfe attributed "laziness" and a "lack of work ethic" to those...

unable to obtain an ID before the November election. Watch today's PBS NewsHour interview @ http://video.pbs.org/video/2286181996/# . This little shit tossed out all sorts of red meat for the Teabaggers -- activist judge, leftists, entitlement mentality, etc. -- and made it clear he has more time in office and will not give up on this.

He was also incredibly rude to Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project, who just happens to be African-American. She was as classy and calm as can be.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/pennsylvania-voter-id-law-enforcement-halted-by-judge/2012/10/02/bf240ffc-0c9d-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html
By Robert Barnes, Updated: Tuesday, October 2, 8:57 PM

"State officials said they had not made a final decision about whether to appeal Simpson’s ruling to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But a joint statement from Corbett and his secretary of state sounded as if they were preparing to give up the fight to use the law in the coming election."

Stay tuned...

[allan01]

16. re:Judge halts Pa.'s tough new voter ID requirement

i ride with a fellow who listens to slush rimshod and co whilst going grocery shoppin. wonder if flush rush will give his usual "activist judge" speal.

way to go pa! and another one bites the dust

[DebJ]

20. THanks for the video clip....I was 7 years old again for a brief moment

[MgtPA]

17. Yes! Yes!! YES!!!

Woo Hoo !

[DebJ]

18. halleluiah! some justice!! n/t

[Loryn]

21. Good news!

[cheezmaka]

56. Welcome to DU!

You came in at a GOOD TIME...

[Heather MC]

22. Woohoo! Do you hear that???

it's the brick Mitt Romney just shitted

[Lisa D]

23. Wonderful news!

I was afraid the judge would compromise by allowing the ridiculous provisional ballot option offered by Republicans. So glad he didn't go that route.

[cosmicone]

24. yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

The final nail in Romney's coffin.

[barbtries]

25. this is great.

although it is concerning that "an appeal is possible." running out of time.

[Patiod]

27. Said it before and will say it again: Let's look to Canada for sane ID laws

Two thirds of voters support voter ID laws, and frankly, I'm okay with them too, just so they're not draconian and dis-enfranchising (which, frankly, we all know is the point of them).

To reiterate, in Canada:
1) ONE official governement ID
OR
2) TWO other forms of ID
OR
3) someone from the precinct vouches for you uner oath. You can only vouch for ONE other person per election, and the person vouched for can't vouch for anyone else.

So there you have it. Grandma can use her SS card and a utility bill, Uncle Bob can use his Military ID, cousin Jen can use her out-of-state driver's license and a student ID (with or without expiration date), and your dopey, unorganized neighbor can use YOU to vouch that you've known him since he was a kid, and he's definitely a citizen even though he can never find anything in that house.

[rocktivity]

28. Don't forget to be thankful to this guy for tipping everyone off:

Pennsylvania Republican House Leader Mike "NOT Done!" Turzai.


rocktivity

[polichick]

30. Perfect example of pride going before a fall.

[Shuhered]

36. Mike Turzai

This Caucasian guy's smug comment met with a receptive crowd who approved. He and the crowd seem to tacitly approve of the 47% that Mr. Romney refers to in his video. It is as if they have a collective thought amongst them that assuages their consciences by thinking something like, "Illiterate people are dumb and shouldn't have the right to vote anyway." This assumes, of course, that they have consciences. I myself am doubtful. Go Obama!!! My Iowa vote is mailed already!!!! But best of luck in the debate anyway!!!!

[Shuhered]

66. Obama wins Pennsylvania!!!

Ok, I HOPE that he wins Pennsylvania. Criminal Republicans have no place in the political process.

[trailmonkee]

45. .

[Shuhered]

31. Voter Suppression is Mitt's Path to Victory/Priebus

Thank God the Pennsylvania judge agreed to have scruples and impartiality in the great state of Pennsylvania. Neither Party affiliation ever wants to be in bed with the idea of winning by lowering voter turnout from the opposing side. In this spectacularly atypical year, from a changing demographic standpoint, it is so sad for moderate Republicans who can only watch as their Party is and continues to be high-jacked by thugs with no long-term plan.

[WinkyDink]

41. "it is so sad for moderate Republicans"-----WTH?! CRY ME A RIVER.

[gauguin57]

32. Here in PA, I've been hearing from friends worried about discrepancies ...

... discrepancies between their names on their driver's licenses and their voter registration.

They've been worried sick that, after voting in every primary and general for decades, they'd be stopped at the gate by this law -- stopped from voting in an impossibly important election!

I hope it isn't appealed, though I know it will be -- because the GOP in PA admitted in front of God and everyone that this law was put into place -- with only a few months for everyone to get IDs -- ONLY to give the state to Romney.

In other words: Whew!

[WinkyDink]

40. Another with this same "Here in PA" "rumor"? Is "friends" a term now for "Republicans"?

[Kingofalldems]

33. Repubs not liking this one

[durablend]

48. Oh yes, the whinefest has started

Last edited Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:41 PM - Edit history (1)

"Lazy shiftless dirtbag Dumbocats can't get off their ass and get an ID"

Just one of the choice tidbits.

To whit, I reply: "EAT SHIT REPUBLICANS!"

[Chemisse]

34. Thank the gods!

[rogrot]

38. Is your dog

a liberal? Really cute!!!

[Chemisse]

65. Thanks! But she is just too lazy to follow politics.

She saves all of her little bit of energy for cuddling, lick kisses, and climbing up on the bed to sleep with us (3 is quite a crowd!).

[berni_mccoy]

35. Awesome.

[rogrot]

37. Time for the Republican BS

to end. Several anti-worker, anti-middle class, anti-education "laws" passed by the Rep. legislature in MI have been overturned and are going thru the appeals process. What a waste of time and taxpayer money perpetrated by the self-righteous, small government, anti-tax Right! What a bunch of idiot phonies!

[trailmonkee]

49. this has given the public an opportunity to see how spineless the gop is..

Don't know if you can put a price tag on that

[Coyotl]

44. Now a new public education campaign is needed to ensure people without photo ID know they can vote

That is one important line in the piece

[hue]

47. Very excellent news!!!!

[Douglas Carpenter]

50. this is fantastic new..even my 90 year-old fundamentalist Christan Aunt who lives in Sharpsville, PA

was worried that she wouldn't be able to vote - because she no longer has a drivers license and has not needed a passport and therefore has no photo ID and it would have been a real big hassle for her to get one - given all the problems she has getting around. If that is her situation - I'm sure there are countless others. When all is done and said - all of these ID efforts are simply cynical maneuvers by the Republicans to try to change the results of elections.

[The Jungle 1]

51. wild

What is wild is that republicans spent millions on this scam. The goal was to deliver Pa to Willard.
Willard gave up on Pa. weeks ago. These un-American fascist never stood a chance.

Our state is completely republican controlled and nothing is getting done.
Infrastructure is falling apart.
Schools are failing, charter schools are failing!
School funding is grossly unfair. (real estate taxes)
We have a pension bomb that is going to destroy the state and local budgets. The Pension bill was signed by a republican named Ridge. It has never been funded and we are in real trouble.
Corbett slashed healthcare for the poor.
The list is endless but all these republicans got done was this voter ID bill and a big fat give away bill for the gas frackers. I probably don't need to tell you this but the gas drillers are who funded Corbutts campaign.

[underpants]

53. Hey Turzai --- DONE!!!

[mrmpa]

54. I just wish the PA Dept. of State would read this decision.....

All afternoon, I saw 6 commercials sponsored by the Dept. of State, repeating the lie that ID would be needed on Election Day. This judgement was made before 12 noon.

[robinlynne]

57. sort of. The judge ruled that voters can be asked for photo ID, but allowed to vote without it.

This is going to cause widespread confusion. A lot of people may not vote. so it is a sort of good verdict.

[Rhiannon12866]

61. Unfortunately, they're still publicizing ID requirements as if this law was in effect...

Voter suppression, anyone?

[trailmonkee]

62. let them blow their wad on ads that might net a few votes

At this point it won't make much difference.... Imho

[mvd]

64. Wonderful! I don't think there is any way Rmoney wins PA now

The PA Supreme Court sent it down to the judge for a ruling, so they won't be going against this.