by Sandy » Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:06 pm
Pennsylvania's recent law restricting voting access by requiring photo ID to be presented was struck down by the state's supreme court. It's a sad commentary on a political party when it sees the only way it can win is to keep the voter turnout down. I don't think those laws will last much longer, however, I think several other states have overturned similar laws, citing a litany of SCOTUS rulings and precedents. It has upheld some pretty lenient legislation when it comes to voter registration requirements, including approval of same day laws in a dozen states. I'd say, with the court cases already piled up, we're less than a year from the striking down of restrictive state laws aimed at blockading people from casting a ballot.
The photo ID thing sort of backfired here in PA. Several private businesses worked overtime to make sure that thousands upon thousands of people who didn't have driver's licenses got an official ID card that would pass the law requirement. In the process, they helped to register more than 87,000 new Democratic party voters.
The next challenge is going to be on keeping access to the polls as wide open as possible. Making sure that polls are open and accessible to voters, including widespread early voting locations, is on its way through the courts as well. In neighboring Ohio, a move to shorten the early voting time, and reduce the number of polling locations was actually defeated in the legislature when a group of Republicans refused to join the tea party bigots who sponsored the legislation. They took one look at the poll numbers and ran the other way.