Pennsylvania

JPZenger

(6,819 posts) Thu Jul 25, 2013, 07:58 AM Jul 2013

If Seniors Want Photo ID to Vote, they just need to show Photo ID for the bus to the Photo Center

Last edited Thu Jul 25, 2013, 03:09 PM - Edit history (3)

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130725_State_aides_testify_in_voter_ID_lawsuit.html

The PA. Photo ID trail continues.

Excerpts:

"Kelly O'Donnell, operations and management director at the Department of Aging, acknowledged under questioning by plaintiffs' attorneys that she had sent inaccurate information about where individuals could get a photo ID. She said she was wrong when she told county aging agencies that clients could get photo ID at all PennDot photo centers, when they could only get them on days when the PennDot driver's license centers were open.

E-mails presented as evidence by the plaintiffs also showed inaccurate information released over the availability of transportation to driver's license centers and accommodations by PennDot to handle large groups of elderly traveling together by bus.

In one case, an e-mail from a county official in Potter County told the Department of Aging that an ID would be needed to get the reduced fares from the bus company to ride to the PennDot center to get IDs for voting."

That's Catch22, said the attorney challenging the law.

(I should add that Potter County is one of the mostly rural areas of Pennsylvania, and it includes a high percentage of seniors. A bus ride across these very long distances to reach the widely scattered PennDOT centers without a discount could become extremely expensive. The trip also could be very time-consuming and uncomfortable for a person with disabilities. Pennsylvania lets people do almost all vehicle driving services over the internet, but they don't allow voter registration or submission of absentee ballots over the internet.)

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Here's more on the on-going trial to try to overturn PA's Photo ID law. PA. already had some of the strictest voting laws in the country, including no early voting, an inability to complete a registration online, a requirement to be registered 30 days before an election, and very limited allowance for voting through the mail.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10744265

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10744229

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10744218

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10744177

6 replies

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Highlight:

If Seniors Want Photo ID to Vote, they just need to show Photo ID for the bus to the Photo Center (Original Post) JPZenger Jul 2013 OP

More exposure on how dysfunctional our state and its leaders are livetohike Jul 2013 #1

Well there you go. Mission accomplished. Chemisse Jul 2013 #2

It's almost like they are trying deliberately to confuse people. femmocrat Jul 2013 #3

This reminds me TNNurse Jul 2013 #4

Just a guess dusty trails Jul 2013 #5

The Battle of the Statisticians JPZenger Jul 2013 #6

livetohike

(22,147 posts)

1. More exposure on how dysfunctional our state and its leaders are

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 08:15 AM

Jul 2013

Time to bang head against wall.

Chemisse

(30,813 posts)

2. Well there you go. Mission accomplished.

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 08:19 AM

Jul 2013

Now back to cutting Social Security . . .

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)

3. It's almost like they are trying deliberately to confuse people.

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 09:27 AM

Jul 2013

Are they really that inept? I hope Ms. O'Donnell loses her job over that error. But she will probably get a promotion for a job well done!

TNNurse

(6,928 posts)

4. This reminds me

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 10:50 AM

Jul 2013

of when Tennessee started it's Tenncare program which took the place of Medicaid. A state official at a gathering of potential Tenncare recipients (that is low income people) told them that they could learn a lot more about the program from the website. I am sure those in the audience all had easy access to a computer and the internet. I do believe however, that the particular official was CLUELESS, rather that these folks in Pennsylvania who also seem evil in addition to clueless.

dusty trails

(174 posts)

5. Just a guess

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 03:54 PM

Jul 2013

I'm guessing the GOP think senior citizens tend to vote Democratic;
or at least are pro-Medicare and pro-Social Security.

So the GOP want to making it more difficult for senior citizens to vote.

JPZenger

(6,819 posts)

6. The Battle of the Statisticians

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Fri Jul 26, 2013, 09:30 AM

Jul 2013

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130726_At_trial__dueling_estimates_on_voters_who_lack_ID.html

Statisticians for the challengers and the Corbett Administration have been battling in court about the number of Pennsylvanians who do not current dated Photo ID that would allow them to vote. The challenger's statistical expert estimated it was 511,000.

Then Corbett's statistician (who is from Wyoming) said no, it is probably only 475,000, after you remove college students, prison inmates, and nursing home residents.

Oh, only 475,000! That is so so much better than 511,000.

However, to arrive at the number of college students, he assumed that everyone without an ID who lives within a ONE MILE RADIUS of colleges such as Pitt must be a college student. Yep, everyone who lives in the Strawberry Mansion and Kensington sections of North Philadelphia is a college student.

(Also, a person in prison today could be released before the next election. PA. does allow felons and people on parole and probation to vote, as long as they are not incarcerated on election day.)

So far, Corbett has spent over $300,000 of taxpayer dollars on the outside attorneys and statisticians to defend the voter ID law.

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