This is four exclamation mark news!!! !
This is fucking fantastic:
10:32AM EST October 2. 2012 – A Pennsylvania judge is putting a halt to the state’s voter identification law, ordering today that it not be enforced for the presidential election just five weeks away.
The ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson could be appealed to the state’s Supreme Court. Simpson’s ruling says the law — requiring each voter to show a valid photo ID — would be fully implemented next year.
This is wonderful, outstanding, marvelous news. I am going to read the ruling and will update this post with the legal deets.
For now, it’s pop champagne time for voters in Pennsylvania.
UPDATE: There’s been some concern about what exactly this ruling means. Without getting into the legal weeds, it means that the sections of the voter ID law that might have disenfranchised up to 750,000 voters are enjoined from enforcement for the November 6 election. Pennsylvanians without voter ID will be able to cast normal — not provisional — ballots. Poll workers will still be able to ask for voter ID, and that might cause some disenfranchisement (to the extent a voter runs screaming into the street after merely being asked for an ID, a scenario that can’t be entirely ruled out, I suppose), but not nearly as much as the requirement that voters without ID cast provisional ballots and then provide proof of identification within six days after election day.
So here’s how it works: A voter walks up to the table where the poll workers sit with the voter rolls. The poll worker asks you for ID. If you have it, you give it to the poll worker, then go into the voting booth and cast a regular ballot. if you don’t have it, you say, I don’t have one.” The poll worker says, “OK” and you go into the voting booth and cast a regular ballot.
A status conference has been set for December 13, 2012 at which point the fight becomes about whether or not the voter ID law should be enforced for future elections.
Unless I’m missing something, this is excellent news. I will update this post further with actual language from the ruling, but if I don’t take my dog out for his morning pee, he’s going to stab me in my sleep.
UPDATE 2: I’ve updated the post again and included my mark-up of the ruling. You’re going to have to click, people.
[cross-posted at ABLC]
Pennsylvania Judge Halts Voter ID Law!!!! [updated 2x]Post + Comments (100)