Republican Governor Surrenders to Voting Rights in Pennsylvania

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Voting Rights advocates in Pennsylvania declared victory on Thursday, after Governor Tom Corbett announced he will not appeal a January court ruling that quashed one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country. “The Commonwealth will not pursue an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn the Commonwealth Court’s decision to enjoin Act 18’s photo identification mandate,”

Back in January, Judge Bernard L. McGinley ruled that Pennsylvania’s Voter ID law was unconstitutional on several grounds. One sentence of the Judge’s ruling states the crux of the problem with restrictive Voter ID laws. “Voting laws are designed to assure a free and fair election; the Voter ID Law does not further this goal,” He pointed to the unacceptable burden the law places on eligible voters, an observation that is all too familiar to voting rights advocates and anyone who has been reading rulings on the effects of these laws.

The Judge’s conclusions reflected findings in other courts that looked at similar voter ID laws. As importantly, the state failed to prove that this law was necessary to prevent voter fraud or for any other factor that could be considered a compelling state interest in passing the law. One would think if there was evidence of the in person voter fraud that Republicans like to scare their base with; the court would have seen it. As was the case in Wisconsin, when it came to showing proof of a problem that needed a fix, the state came up empty.

McGinley also criticized the state’s advertising campaign to sell the law to voters as confusing and could discourage people from voting. In fact, there is proof that confusing information, combined with prohibitive costs to get the documents you need to get the voter ID have produced a chill effect on the electorate during previous elections. The news got better because Corbett also said that adjusting voter ID requirements will not be a priority for the rest of this year.

“The Administration will work with the General Assembly to address these issues,” he said. “However, through the current legislative term, we must remain focused on passing a balanced budget and addressing ongoing legislative priorities.”

Even House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, who once bragged that Pennsylvania’s voter ID law would deliver the state to Mitt Romney, supported the Republican governor’s decision, while offering up the same flawed talking point that Republicans have used to justify vote suppression laws. ”The governor made the right call not to appeal the decision. We will continue work on voter integrity and voter access, including a fair and efficient online registration system for Pennsylvania.”

If given a chance, Republicans will revive their war on popular elections after 2014. Even the most extreme Republicans can see that after a long battle and a scathing ruling by the courts, further attempts to suppress the vote at this point in time will only show the electorate how pathetic and desperate the Republican Party is.

So for now, Governor Corbett and Republican Leaders in the State Legislature are waving the white flag of surrender to voting rights.

Image Zimbio