Bogus state mailer claims ID needed to vote in PA today
Voters in Harrisburg are receiving a mailer telling them they must produce state approved identification to vote in Tuesday's general election. It's bogus. The mailer was produced by the Pennsylvania Department of State and sent out in September, before a state Commonwealth Court judge ruled that the state's new Voter ID law would not be used in the general election.
Bogus state mailer claims ID needed to vote in PA today
Voters in Harrisburg are receiving a mailer telling them they must produce state approved identification to vote in Tuesday's general election. It's bogus. The mailer was produced by the Pennsylvania Department of State and sent out in September, before a state Commonwealth Court judge ruled that the state's new Voter ID law would not be used in the general election.
The mailer says: "Under a new law, voters are required to show an acceptable photo ID with a valid expiration date when voting on November 6. The other side of the mailer shows a woman holding up her Pennsylvania driver's license. The headline: "If you want to vote, show it."
Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman said his department was not responsible for this new version of an old mailer.
"These mailings all were sent between Sept. 17 and 24"," Ruman said. "We are looking into this, but the Department of State did not send these cards at this time."
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson ruled Oct. 2 that the Voter ID law would not be implemented until the 2013 primary election, due to concerns about voter disenfranchisement for people having trouble obtaining identification. Polling place workers will ask voters for identification during Tuesday's general election but it is not required to vote.
The GOP in Penna, just won't stop. They are trying to the last day to steal this election....you don't need ID!!!!!!— kingofpoker- The Democrats are up to their usual tricks in Philadelphia, as a number of certified and credentialed poll watchers were denied access to their polling places by Democratic election judges. These shenanigans happen during every major election in the state. — jfar86
- And to think there are still people who deny that Voter ID laws are anything other than suppression tactics to benefit Republican voters. Why are we shocked that the PA Dept of State sent fliers out that were factually incorrect on behalf of a Governor whose crowning (and really, only) achievement has been the passage of this law? So Tea Party Patriots: Do I get to be mad now that MY TAX DOLLARS ARE FUNDING REPUBLICAN VOTING SCHEMES?— Whatjugot
- At a South Philadelphia poll, this morning early voters were told they could not vote today because they had not voted in the last 2 primaries?????— POF
- I just voted at my Chester County polling station, and saw the only three black voters in the place being turned away. They said they were newly registered voters, and they had made inquiries before Election Day about what they needed to bring in terms of ID. They had brought photo ID as instructed at the DMV, but I heard the poll worker telling them they should have brought some other form, a registration card I believe. This kind of confusion is exactly what the Republicans wanted. Their iniquitous law has nothing to do with voter fraud, and everything to do with taking away the right to vote from people the GOP thinks of as second-class citizens.— Dave Clemens
- What part of "fake" do you not understand?— verve
- If you're talking about the mailer, it doesn't matter whether it was fake or genuine. The Republican-controlled state government's actions around this disastrous law have been calculated to confuse people and deter them from voting. So even if the state didn't send the mailer, it created the conditions in which the mailer would be effective.
- Last thing: I reported what I saw to the electoral watchdog phone line -- 1-866-OUR-VOTE -- and I urge everyone to do the same if they see voters being turned away by poll workers.— Dave Clemens
- All of you jumping up like crazy apparently missed that this was sent out 2 months ago. Funny it's being reported today— spags
- Waiting for tha dgital edition front page report on New Black Panthers intimidation and threatening of GOP poll workers. Real suppression. But then again, we are in Philly. BTW, I have voted in the same suburban district for 40 years, and I was asked for ID. No big deal.— georgel
- So Dave Clemens, your response was not to raise a stink at the poll, but rather to run home and post on philly.com?— spags
- heh did you know that the US is the only Democracy in the world where politicians have a say in the voting, schedule, and how people will vote— Iknowyourider
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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