CWA, Allies Will Register 25,000 New Pennsylvania Voters

Left to right: Chris Kennedy, Nick Alpers, Yvette Herrera, John Jordan, Don Engleman, John Johnson, Jr., Daphne Taylor, Dave Szczepanski and Andre Jones, Sr.

CWA has partnered with the Pennsylvania NAACP, Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union to register 25,000 new voters in the Keystone State by Oct. 1.

Volunteers will be taking to the streets of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with voter registration forms and information about the state's new voter identification law, a measure recently passed by the GOP-dominated state legislature that is designed to suppress turnout — particularly in minority communities.

"Together, we will work day and night in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to register new voters and educate current voters about what they now need to do to participate in the democratic process," said CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney. "Some in the State Legislature may think they can keep eligible voters away from the polls with unnecessary hurdles, but they need to think again."

Today, the state Supreme Court held a hearing on the controversial voter ID law in Philadelphia. The NAACP, CWA and others held a news conference outside City hall just before the hearing to show how nasty and unjust this partisan attack on citizens' right to vote has become. NAACP Chairman and CEO Ben Jealous joined Mike Davis, vice president of CWA Local 13000,  other Pennsylvania labor and civil rights leaders and a number of minorities or senior citizens who rallied in opposition, according to The Washington Post.

This year the Pennsylvania legislature passed and Governor Tom Corbett (R) signed a new law which required voters to present government approved photo ID in order to vote. Reports show that some 750,000 Pennsylvanians do not have an acceptable ID, especially elderly and lower income residents, students and people of color. Proponents of the law claim it's intended to prevent voter fraud, but have acknowledged that voter fraud has not occurred in the state in recent history. Since 2000, only 10 cases of in-person voter fraud have been proven nationally.

Now, if you're an elderly veteran who gave up his driver's license, you're most likely not going to be able to vote in the November elections in Pennsylvania. But if your son is Jim Cramer, the wacky host of CNBC's financial show "Mad Money," you'll get some personal attention from the state voter registration agency. After tweeting that his father wouldn't be able to vote, Cramer's 90-year-old dad got a personal phone call and help from state officials.

Too bad the other 749,999 registered voters in Pennsylvania who don't have an "official" state-issued form of identification won't get the same service.