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Josephs says requiring voter ID makes it harder for people to vote

HARRISBURG, May 13 – State Rep. Babette Josephs today blasted a proposal being pushed by several House Republicans that would require all Pennsylvania voters to provide proof of identification before casting their vote.

"At a time when a record number of people are registering to vote, it would be wrong to erect new barriers to voting," said Josephs, chairwoman of the House State Government Committee. "Only those afraid of the new and energized voters could support such a measure."

According to the Department of State, nearly 160,000 people registered as new voters for April's primary election.

Josephs announced Monday that she is circulating legislation for co-sponsors that would amend the state constitution to prohibit any requirement that voters need to show a photo ID to vote unless required by federal law.

"Our right to vote is one of our most sacred rights in this country and nothing should be used to deny citizens that right. We should be making it easier for people to vote, not more difficult.

"The legislation that was proposed today is one more way to infringe on people's right to vote," she said. Josephs cited an example in the Indiana primary just last week where 12 elderly nuns lacked the required ID and were turned away from voting.

Josephs also noted that just because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board that it was constitutional for the state of Indiana to require photo ID from its electors before they can cast their ballots, doesn't mean every state should follow suit.

"Indiana's law is a bad public policy that disfranchises thousands of people. It doesn't mean Pennsylvania should do the same, especially when no one can prove there is a problem with in-person voting in Pennsylvania. I challenge any proponent of this bad idea to find any recent conviction for voter fraud anywhere in this state that would have been prevented by these onerous identification requirements. "

"Voter disfranchisement must be fought head-on so that no person, no political party, no state, no instrument of the federal government, for any partisan political reason, denies citizens this most sacred of rights," Josephs said.

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