BREAKING: Judge upholds Pa. voter ID law

[BumRushDaShow]

A Commonwealth Court judge denied a bid by civil rights groups to block the new voter identification law from taking effect, delivering a first-round victory to Gov. Corbett and legislative Republicans who pushed the measure through this spring saying it was needed to prevent voter fraud.

More: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120815_Judge_upholds_Pa__voter_ID_law.html

Appeal forthcoming.

[annabanana]

1. Damn.. How quickly can an appeal be brought? . . n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

2. What I don't understand is how Corbett and his co-plaintiffs had evidence

of voter fraud. I mean meaningful, substantial voter fraud.

[atreides1]

26. They didn't

The judge's decision was made based on the legal standard that the legislature had the legal right to do what it did.

[Junkdrawer]

3. Someone show how Obama can win the electoral college WITHOUT Pennsylvania...

This should be good.

[woolldog]

21. some reasonable scenarios:

[Junkdrawer]

23. Any new Photo ID laws in any of your blue states?

Kind of razor thin margins...

[woolldog]

24. Ohio and Florida, I think

Not sure about Virginia.


Romney has a lot less room for error if that comforts you.

edit: Oh and I made the margins thin on purpose. I wanted to show the bare minimum he needs to win without PA.

[ananda]

4. I hope that ruling gets overturned.

Texas voters won an appeal and our ID law is on hold
indefinitely.

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/state-to-appeal-federal-ruling-blocking-some-voter-2427600.html

Costa's injunction bars enforcement of the provisions until a trial can be held to determine if they violate the 1993 National Voter Registration Act or the U.S. Constitution. No trial has been set.

The plaintiffs — Project Vote, a nonprofit voter registration group, its affiliate, Voting for America, and Galveston County residents Brad Richey and Penelope McFadden — filed the lawsuit in Galveston in February against the state's chief elections officer, Secretary of State Hope Andrade, and Galveston County Registrar Cheryl Johnson.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Chad Dunn said the voter registration laws passed by Texas' Republican-led Legislature amounts to a "larger scheme to prevent Texans from voting."

[rbrnmw]

5. This is bullshit

This isn't 2000 and I'm tired of them stealing elections We have to stop this now before November

[Nuclear Unicorn]

8. "We have to stop this now before November"

"We" can do little, if anything. It's going to play-out in the courts.

[Gothmog]

6. I hope that the DOJ has time to file suit

The DOJ needs to step in and block this voter suppression law

[PRETZEL]

7. Op-Ed by Mike Smerkonish on Sunday

laying out where he thinks the Commonwealth's Supreme Court my rule on this.

I thought it a pretty interesting take given Ron Castille's history in the state.

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/michael_smerconish/20120812_The_Pulse__A_chief_justice_s_time_to_eschew_partisanship_.html

[nc4bo]

9. New study finds virtually NO VOTER FRAUD.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/gop-voter-id-data-voter_n_1773142.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

They identified 2,068 alleged cases of voter fraud since the year 2000, a period during which there have been more than 600 million votes cast in presidential elections alone. That, the study noted, is an "infinitesimal amount." It also showed a total of 10 cases of in-person voter fraud during that period.

It's pure bullshit and I don't understand how Republicans are allowed to get away with it.

[spanone]

10. so it is upheld with NO EVIDENCE OF FRAUD? how the frack does that happen?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

12. It's a law, not a lawsuit

You don't need evidence of some wrongdoing to pass a law. You can have a law against marrying goats even without an epidemic of caprine matrimony.

[spanone]

27. the ACLU and others were seeking an injunction, they were denied

In his decision, Simpson said plaintiffs did not establish that "disenfranchisement was immediate or inevitable."

[Nuclear Unicorn]

28. I disagree with Simpson.

But to the point of the post I was reply to -- laws are not passed based on evidence of something. For example, we would not need evidence of insider trading to write/strengthen laws forbidding insider trading.

That being said, I have concerns that the judge is giving too little credence to the possibility that adequate provisions are made to ensure voters are not disenfranchised. According to some posts in this thread as many as 700,000 people may need photo ID. Before the judge allows this ruling to go forward this and other concerns should be addressed.

[marmar]

11. 21st century poll tax.

nt

[philly_bob]

13. Oh no. An outrage, disenfranchising up to 10% of my city. Appeal! (nt)

[PCIntern]

14. Fuck.

[HopeHoops]

15. PASC up next - details at 11.

[Strega Ribiera]

16. There will be an appeal.

PA's Supreme Court is split, 3 Dems and 3 Repubs. The 7th justice (Repub) is suspended due to corruption charges. 1 of the republican judges is supposed to be a moderate from Philly. I am still hopeful...

http://www.thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/15/692521/pennsylvania-voter-id-upheld/

[PRETZEL]

17. The moderate would probably be Chief Justice Castille

he's been around a long time.

[Ian_rd]

18. K&R. This is bad.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. Am trying to find the quote

but heard on the radio that the ACLU comment was that this Judge did not rule on the merits of the law itself but ruled on whether to implement an injunction.

My hope is that the Supreme Court will at least put a temporary injunction in place until after the election through until the next level of trial.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. Found it with some more info

Simpson, a Republican, didn't rule on the full merits of the case, only whether to grant a preliminary injunction stopping it from taking effect.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-08-15/pennsylvania-voter-ID/57068288/1?csp=34news

[GObamaGO]

20. This is not good

(I know, water is wet as well)

[AtomicKitten]

25. In light of all the evidence that there is no voter fraud and that

the GOP are engineering a voter suppression coup.

What's that again about packing the courts with ideologues, you sniveling bungholes?

[meow2u3]

29. Daily Kos is calling it "ethnic voter cleansing"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/15/1120402/-Ethnic-Voter-Cleansing



Republicans are openly engaged in ethnically cleanse the voting pool. A conservative judge in PA refused to stop the voter identification law, even though the state's lawyers acknowledged that they knew of NO CASES of in person voting fraud. In an eerily reminiscent, obtuse manner which called to mind the defense of the SCOTUS for its Bush v. Gore decision in 2000, the judge simply agreed that the law would protect the integrity of the election (for George W and his supporters).

As the population demographics continue to overwhelm conservatives in the years ahead, and as Democrats organize around the ID barrier, no doubt Republicans will turn to more drastic measures. One day they could be driving stakes through the hearts of minority voters. After all, some of "them" could become vampires, and vampires can't be legal citizens. They don't deserve the vote. Undoubtedly, Republicans will do even that with a clear conscience, so long as it gives them a chance to win elections.

_____________________________________

I think we should pick this one up and run with it. Better yet, let's call it "voter genocide."