City Commissioner: Corbett not helping on Voter ID
City Commission Chairwoman Stephanie Singer complained Monday evening that Gov. Corbett and the Republican-controlled legislature are making the job of running elections much more difficult by delaying the release of information to help voters comply with a new law requiring them to show state identification at their polling places. During an appearance on "The War Room," a show hosted by Jennifer Granholm on Current TV, Singer also said Corbett and the legislature "grossly underestimated" the cost of the law, which she called an "unfunded mandate."
City Commissioner: Corbett not helping on Voter ID
Chris Brennan
City Commission Chairwoman Stephanie Singer complained Monday evening that Gov. Corbett and the Republican-controlled legislature are making the job of running elections much more difficult by delaying the release of information to help voters comply with a new law requiring them to show state identification at their polling places. During an appearance on "The War Room," a show hosted by Jennifer Granholm on Current TV, Singer also said Corbett and the legislature "grossly underestimated" the cost of the law, which she called an "unfunded mandate."
"They're not helping us," Singer said during the interview. "They're not really interested."
Granholm, a Democrat who served two terms as governor of Michigan, referred to the law as "Pennsylvania's voter suppression effort." Corbett and his Republican allies in the General Assembly have claimed the law is designed to catch voter fraud. Critics counter that the Republicans are really just make it harder for Democrats to vote.
Singer sees a silver lining, telling Granholm the effort could spark voter turn-out in the city.
"Philadelphia has not come out to vote in the past in the way that we can and should," Singer said. "That's why we have a Republican governor and why we have a Republican majority on the courts, which are elected in Pennsylvania."
Information on the new law can be found at VotesPA.com.
This comment has been deleted.— Deaweeave- And exactly what data do you have that shows Blacks are voting 5 or 6 times? Post your proof here on this site, or is what you say just more empty conservative words. Republican Mike Turzai has already said the purpose of this law was to reduce democratic voting numbers and ensure Romney wins in Pennsylvania. Was he wrong? This new law has nothing to do with fair voting. It has everything to do with unfair voting! — CommonSense in Philly
- This comment has been deleted. — Deaweeave
- By the way, bigot, what you gonna do if Obama WINS Pennsylvania? He's leading in the polls. — CommonSense in Philly
- I must agree that the behavior of the democrats has surprised me with voter ID. To me, voter ID only makes sense. It strengthens the integrity of the vote. I always found it strange that I could go in and vote and they would just believe me on who I am without knowing me. So much potential for fraud - I always thought.
They are making such a stink about this that I am suspicious now. The groups that make the most noise are likely the group that stands to loose the most from this scrutiny. - it is one of the most supported laws in PA. 3 out of 4 democrats support it. Apparently the only people who dont support it work for the Daily News and Inquirer but they probably only have to write that they dont because they are being paid to say it by the DNC.— tr88
- Really. 3 out of 4 democrats in Pennsylvania support this law? Post your data to support your ludicrous lie. — CommonSense in Philly
Comment removed.- Hey this is Philly, where the mooks are corrupt and content.
why let the highest taxe rate and the second highest murder
rate get in the way of " Voter Fraud" just ask the prime flip flopper . Michael Schmirkonish, Chrissy the sissy and the left wingers at COMCAST, YES NBC.... who needs voter ID, you can visit your local BARBER SHOP or just buy a DRIVERS license at the BODAGGA
IF ALL ELSE FAILS, try a Fishing license, heck it's philly .... sick— goodsax - Hey this is Philly, where the mooks are corrupt and content.why let the highest taxe rate and the second highest murderrate get in the way of " Voter Fraud" just ask the prime flip flopper . Michael Schmirkonish, Chrissy the sissy and the left wingers at COMCAST, YES NBC.... who needs voter ID, you can visit your local BARBER SHOP or just buy a DRIVERS license at the BODAGGA IF ALL ELSE FAILS, try a Fishing license, heck it's philly .... sick (HTML deleted)— goodsax
- Comment removed.
- "Singer sees a silver lining, telling Granholm the effort could spark voter turn-out in the city". How is this even possible if the GOP has made it impossible to vote?— Steve-Oh
- Hey Stephanie, how do you think we feel about your colleaques who keep raising our taxes to pay for your many office drone workers. Do you think we are stupid. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.— TheShadowKnows
- I did see a Fox News poll and a TX senator's statement that showed a majority of Americans favoring an ID law, but that's Fox News and a Texan. I also saw that the Supreme Court has already declared several states' ID laws consititutional, and some states have actually had greater turnout with the enactment of an ID law. Some states waive the fee if you show you can't afford it (I heard on NPR that some groups in PA were already doing this), and waive the requirement for seniors over age 70.— T
- Comment removed.
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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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