Title
Urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to reject House Bill 934, which imposes unnecessary and restrictive voter ID requirements that would disproportionately impact African-American and Latino voters, senior citizens, people with disabilities, the homeless, low-income citizens, and young voters, and thereby disenfranchise law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to vote.
Body
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania state House Bill 934, passed by the state House of Representatives on June 28, 2011, proposes to remove existing protections against voter fraud and instead mandate all voters present government photo identification every time they go to the polls; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 934 is currently being considered by the Pennsylvania state Senate in its Committee on State Government; and
WHEREAS, National studies show that as many as 11% of all legal voters do not have a current government photo ID; and
WHEREAS, Evidence suggests that senior citizens would face even greater impact, with up to 18%, or 340,000 people, unable to meet the proposed requirements; and
WHEREAS, African-American and Latino voters, senior citizens, people with disabilities, the homeless, low-income citizens, and young voters are among those least likely to possess driver's licenses, and thus would also be significantly burdened; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that adoption of House Bill 934 could cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $11.5 million in just the first year, and a total of $18 to $25 million over three years, based on the actual experience in other states. These costs relate to mandatory services like issuing free identification for people who lack it, training and administrative costs for election administrators and polls workers, and providing voters with warnings about the new state mandate; and
WHEREAS, Preventing voter fraud is a laudable goal but the right to vote is the hallmark of our democracy and should not be made more cumbersome or difficult than abs...
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