Pennsylvania's Supreme Court today sent a challenge to the state's new Voter ID law back to a lower court with instructions for that judge to reconsider issuing an injunction.
It's not yet clear how the court decision will affect or possibly block implementation of the law for the Nov. 6 general election, according to a Philly.com report.
The decision gave Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson -- a former Northampton County judge and a Nazareth resident -- until Oct. 2 to file a new opinion on the case. Simpson upheld the law last month.
The Supreme Court instructed Simpson "to consider whether the procedures being used for deployment" of ID cards comports with the law as written -- which, in testimony before the Supreme Court, appeared not to be the case, according to a Huffington Post report.
If those procedures are not being followed, or if the judge was "not still convinced...that there will be no voter disenfranchisement arising out of the Commonwealth’s implementation of a voter identification requirement for purposes of the upcoming election" then he would be "obliged to enter a preliminary injunction," the higher court wrote.
Two Democratic justices dissented, saying the high court should have issued an injunction itself. The four judges who supported the ruling include three Republicans and one Democrat.
Free photo IDs for voting are available at PennDOT driver's license centers.
The court challenge to the new Voter ID law has been described as a case of contradictions.
The information is out there. You have it, I have, and so most people everyone reading these posts. A responsible citizen does not need to be led by the hand to do what they should do.
People don't care. They certainly aren't motivated - as they were in 2008 - to vote. I don't buy for a minute the I-can't-get/take-a-day-to-get-to-PENNDOT explanation for those numbers.
Big Brother and Overbearing Mom are already here and well-established.
Where are all those people that have been screaming about getting government out of our lives, that candidate that promoted NOT filling out the census forms, those people that have been screaming about fear of loosing our freedom, rights, and liberty? Where are all those people that have been screaming Don't Tread On Me? ......They are now all supporting this oppressive law that will steal the right of American Citizens. Why wasn't there a specific voter card designed and [ALL] voters required to obtain that specific voter id card? Why is it that only specific groups of American Citizens are having the voting rules changed for them? Was this Republican law created purposefully disenfranchise specific American's ? Was this Republican law designed to purposefully create confusion and disruption for the November election? Was this Republican law designed to purposefully create more division by promoting false ideology to create fear?
http://mobile.philly.com/columnists/?wss=/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/&id=171079821&viewAll=y#more