PA Judge Stops Restrictive Voter ID Law for November Election

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Judge Robert Simpson on Tuesday temporarily suspended Pennsylvania's controversial voter ID law. That means that all citizens, whether or not they have an official photo ID, will be able to exercise their right to vote without being forced to cast a provisional ballot.

CWA commends the court for acting to ensure that at least in the November elections, all Pennsylvanians will be able to exercise their right to vote. Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy, and the campaign in Pennsylvania to disenfranchise at least 750,000 citizens was a display of partisan politics at its most shameful.

CWA activists have been working with the Pennsylvania NAACP, Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union to register 25,000 new voters in the Keystone State and to make sure that voters knew exactly what they needed to make their votes count.

Judge Simpson acknowledged the difficulties faced by ordinary Pennsylvanians in meeting these new requirements when he wrote, "I expected more photo IDs to have been issued by this time. For this reason, I accept Petitioners' argument that in the remaining five weeks before the general election, the gap between the photo IDs issued and the estimated need will not be closed."

But the law — among the toughest voter suppression measures in the country — still could go into full effect next year under Simpson's ruling. CWA will be there with our partners to fight against these efforts that make it difficult for students, minorities, seniors, low-income workers and the disabled to exercise their rights to participate in the democratic election process.