Six percent of Lehigh County's registered voters do not have Pennsylvania driver's licenses or non-driver's license photo IDs that will be required for voting in the November presidential election, according to newly released state data.
Of the 216,828 registered voters in Lehigh County:
- 9,873 active voters do not have PennDOT ID numbers, the state said.
- 3,152 inactive voters -- those who have not voted since at least 2007 -- do not have driver's licenses or non-driver's license photo IDs.
With Pennsylvania's controversial Voter ID law set to take effect for the November general election, the Pennsylvania Department of State compared voter registration rolls and PennDOT databases to determine who had a PennDOT ID number. The Department of State released its findings county by county.
Democrats have argued the new Voter ID law, which will require voters to present proof of identification for every election, will disenfranchise voters without proper identification. Republicans counter it will fight voter fraud.
State lawmakers passed the legislation in March, and voters had a trial run in the May primary, when they were asked to present ID.
According to the Department of State comparison:
- 91 percent of Pennsylvania's 8,232,928 registered voters have PennDOT ID numbers, and 9 percent, or 758,939 voters, do not.
- Of the 9 percent who could not be matched between databases, 167,566 are inactive voters, meaning they have not voted since at least 2007.
All voters identified as not having a PennDOT ID number will be contacted by letter this summer, reminding them of the new voter ID law, what IDs are acceptable for voting purposes and how to get a free ID if they don't have one.
County election directors will also be provided with the names and addresses of voters in their counties who did not match any record in the PennDOT database.
In a prepared release, Commonwealth Secretary Carol Aichele said most Pennsylvanians have acceptable photo ID for casting ballots in the November election. “This comparison takes into account only voters with PennDOT IDs," she noted, "and does not include voters who may have any of the other various acceptable forms of ID.”
Other forms of identificaiton that will be accepted at the polls include identification from accredited Pennsylvania colleges or universities, Pennsylvania care facilities, military identification, valid U.S. passports, other photo identification issued by the federal or Pennsylvania government, or employee identification issued by the federal, Pennsylvania, or a county or municipal government.
All identification used for voting must have an expiration date and be current, except for Pennsylvania driver's licenses or non-driver photo identification, which are valid for voting purposes one year past their expiration. Retired military identification with an indefinite expiration date is also valid for voting purposes.
More information on the Voter ID law is available at VotesPa or by calling 1-877-VotesPa.
Also I need to present my ID to purchase a firearm, and that is also a right guaranteed by the constitution. I need an ID to go to the doctor, and there are some who would argue that is a right. But on the other side of the argument those who do not have ID's currently will get one free of charge now with the voter ID law, so now those people will have a free government issued ID which will allow them to access the laundry list of things that you need an ID for in today's world.
For my neighbor who is 88 years old and has never missed a vote in 60 years...thankfully she gave up driving 7 years ago for her safety...and ours. Her DL ID is expired. She has no birth certificate of record. It will cost her $10 to get that BUT the normal $10 fee is waived if it is for a voter ID card. She still has to pay the $15 Fed Ex charge, though, for shipping. Who pays for birth cert? We do. So, no, the cost is not free. Plus...we taxpayers are paying as much as $4M in state money and $7M fed grant (still out of our pockets) towards the program; training for the poll sitters, birth cert repro, the ID's themselves, additional machinery required, etc. Again...you are paying for it but in typical govt fashion: without you knowing about it.
The states and fed need to get their act together and have ONE uniform law. But, at the same time, there is a law that protects states from having the feds pass and force a law on them. Unknowing people have been arrested for simple 'paperwork' infractions because of this lack of coordination between state and fed govt. Lastly....the new voter ID card is ONLY to be used for voting. It CAN NOT...under penalty of law...be used for any other ID purposes. PA does have a red ID card that can be used for all ID purposes. You can not use it for driving because it is not a DL. But you need to purchase that ID card and go through the same process as a DL. Perhaps that ID card is what you are referencing. John...nothing is free when govt is involved or sets a mandate. When govt gets involved the cost is 1.5 times what it would normally cost.
Just would be curious to see.
And liberals just hate it because it cuts into the big city fraud machines they count on. Liberals suck.