Pennsylvania voter I.D. constitutional amendment advances through Senate

(The Center Square) – The Pennsylvania Senate advanced a bill Wednesday that would enshrine voter I.D. into the state constitution.

House Bill 735, sponsored by Sen. Judy Ward, R-Hollidaysburg, must pass in the General Assembly in two consecutive sessions before it appears as a ballot question – meaning the soonest residents could decide if identification will be required to vote could be 2023.

Ward said lawmakers were “left with no other choice” after Gov. Tom Wolf promised to veto an election reform bill that requires the same.

“Everyone who voted by mail-in or absentee ballot in the last election had to supply proof of identification in order to receive their ballot,” she said. “This isn’t any additional burden.”

Democrats view strengthened voter I.D. laws as a suppression tactic from the right to disenfranchise voters, especially people of color.

Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, said during a news conference with the governor last week that disguising the policy as “ballot security” is nothing more than “a re-enactment of the Jim Crow policies that were enacted a generation ago to disenfranchise people of color and poor whites who live in urban areas.”

“They are trying to put a different label on it, but these measures are literally identical to the Jim Crow doctrine that is a vestige of the discriminatory practices that our part of our nation’s history,” he said.

Republicans point to public polling that indicates broad support for voter identification at the polls. Many say their constituents remain concerned about the way the November election unfolded and want enhanced security measures implemented.

“Asking voters to decide if requiring identification every time voters go to the ballot box will build on that and restore that trust,” Ward said.

The measure now advances to the House for consideration, where an identical bill from Rep. Jeff Wheeland, R-Williamsport, was introduced earlier this month.

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