Some State Officials Unsuccessfully sought to loosen PA. Voter ID Regulations (Trial Continues)

Last edited Tue Jul 23, 2013, 08:47 PM - Edit history (2)

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130723_Memos__Pa__officials_were_wary_of_voter-ID_rules.html

Excerpt:

"State agency officials raised concerns that strict new voter-identification requirements would disenfranchise voters, according to documents presented Monday in Commonwealth Court. Plaintiffs' lawyers produced several memos and other documents that showed state officials expressed reservations that legislation to limit the kinds of acceptable IDs for voting might prevent some groups, such as the elderly and disabled, from voting.

Officials with the Department of Aging and the Department of State, which oversees elections, suggested broad options - such as granting all voters over 65 the right to absentee ballots - as a "good solution to ensure that no qualified elector is disenfranchised because of illness or disability" that prevented him or her from obtaining proof of identity. But the former policy director for the Department of State, Rebecca Oyler, said that although that provision was not included in the final legislation, other accommodations were made for elderly and disabled voters.

Michael Rubin, an ACLU lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said as the trial over Pennsylvania's controversial voter-ID law began last week that documents written by Oyler would prove pivotal because they illustrate that the state repeatedly "chose the more restrictive option" even as officials considered less onerous alternatives."

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http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/aides-voiced-concern-over-voter-id-access-696488/

Excerpts:

"An internal bill analysis presented in Commonwealth Court on Monday by challengers of the law shows the Department of State had learned that college students and residents of care facilities might not be reached by provisions of the law intended to ensure they would have access to acceptable identification. Most university identification lacked expiration dates, while most care facilities did not issue IDs, the December 2011 analysis said.

Of particular concern was a scenario that could be encountered by residents of care facilities that house polling places. A resident too unwell to travel to a Department of Transportation licensing center to obtain an ID might still be able to get to the polls and thus be ineligible to vote absentee.

"The individual may then claim that he or she has been deprived the right to vote," the document says."