Court Upholds Pennsylvania's Voter ID Law

Commonwealth Court Judge Judge Robert Simpson said Wednesday morning that he will not grant an injunction that would have stopped Pennsylvania's  from going into effect.

The challenge to the law was brought by voter advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP.

ACLU attorney Witold J. Walczak told The Washington Post that the case isn't over. “It’s why they make appeals courts.”

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Opponents are expected to file an appeal within a day or two to the state Supreme Court as the Nov. 6 presidential election looms, according to the Associated Press.

Pennsylvania passed a law in March requiring all registered voters to show a valid and “acceptable” photo ID before voting. This is one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation. 

Opponents of the law say it disproportionately targets the elderly as well as the poor and minorities, who typically vote Democrat. Furthermore, critics say that the burden of obtaining an acceptable ID for these people would keep them from voting.

According to proponents of the law, including State Senator Daryl Metcalfe (R-12th District) who introduced the Pennsylvania bill, the law is meant to prevent voter fraud.

Thirty states have some sort of Voter ID law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, of those, 19 do not require a photo, six require a photo and five, including Pennsylvania, have strict .

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is looking at whether Pennsylvania's tough new voter law requiring photo identification complies with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and on Monday asked the state's top election official --  a chief supporter of the law -- for a long list of information about it.

Read Judge Judge Robert Simpson's 70-page decision (attached).