It seems to me that everybody and his brother can get a fake id. Just ask the under age college students how to do it. Who's going to know?

This article states, "Here is everything that you need to know if you're planning to cast your ballot this fall."

This claim is completely misleading as the the author, Zandy Dudiak, does not provide (ALL) let alone complete information. The finale sentence in the article even points to that fact.

Requirements for the State Mandated Identification system of PA citizens is extremely complicated as anyone will quickly see by going to the website site noted in that last sentence, (www.VotesPA.com).

There are restrictions on acceptable Identification such as the requirement of (expiration dates). Further, I have yet to see any of these sites inform the public of the exact (financial cost that voters will incur) in obtaining some of the approved documents to prove that the voter is an Americans and PA citizen.

I've made this point before about the (expiration date) requirement on Student ID's, as well as other forms of acceptable forms of ID's, and in reading this article as a parent of college students I see that the law is even more restrictive for students as the paper work that is acceptable as proof for the DMV, is more often than not sent to the parents home address, as room assignments and area off campus living often change.

If you can't deal with getting it together enough to obtain a valid ID to cast a vote, you don't care enough to vote. There is plenty of time to obtain ID before November? Who are we kidding here? We are ADULTS, remember? I would be so embaressed to tell someone I didn"t have ID if I was trying to get a job or applying for welfare benefits(hopefully never). But I surely would not be too embaressed to ask for help to do it if I needed it. A lot of this is about allowing illegal immigrants to vote in OUR country.

You need propoer ID to open a checking account, cash a check, buy liquor, buy cigarettes & countless other things in day to day life in this country. So why is it such a big hassle and somehow dicriminatory to now require people to show ID in order to vote.

Fortunately the ACLU has filed suit to overturn this law.

if the legislature was serious about wanting all qualified and registered voters to vote, they would not have made it a requirement to get the "free" photo ID from a DMV office, which makes the law unfair to anyone who does not have a drivers license.

For instance, I live in West Chester and my nearest DMV office is in a shopping center in Malvern. That makes it convenient to drivers (I could get there in about 10 minutes by car), but terribly inconvenient if you rely on public transportation. Without a car, you have to take a bus north from WC to the Exton Mall and then transfer to another bus eastward along route 30. You get off on the highway and then walk the rest of the distance. With perfect connections, this will take you over an hour each way. Realistically, with waiting for the buses and waiting at the DMV, you face a four-hour job. If you work, you'll have to do that on Saturday, because the office is only open to 4:15 or 6 on four other days of the week (closed Monday).

And, you're doing this despite the fact that you're already a legally registered voter!

This is not exactly a sign the legislature is reaching out to IMPROVE voting.

Show me your papers...remember when that was a disparaging comment, one that the good ol' US of A used to fight AGAINST?

So whats to keep people (without ID) from fradulently voting as many times as they wish in as many locations and they can be driven to?

Shouldnt there be safegurads in place in order to prevent mass voter fraud (Or is that the only way Democrats can win elections?)

Show me how minority voting is being suppressed by simply providing ID? Minorities arent able to get any kind of state ID? You dont really expect anyone to believe that in 2012 do you?

Jim, what you've shown me was that it was work to go get ID living without a vehicle. Not impossible & not really expensive. I guess maybe you'd like some govt agency to come door to door and hand you an ID. This sort of mentality that you are derserving of somethign without having to earn it or work hard for it is the same mentality that is dragging this country down. Yes you have to work for some things in life. Once you stop depending on others maybe you will grasp the concept of self dependence

Awesome! I'm a legal citizen and I feel no fear about showing ID.... then again, everyone who votes can say the same, right!?

In response to Maureen McAnany's post: "If you can't deal with getting it together enough to obtain a valid ID to cast a vote, you don't care enough to vote. There is plenty of time to obtain ID before November? Who are we kidding here?"

What is at issue here is not your right to make a judgment as to whether someone cares enough to vote, rather it is the fact that an estimated 18% of registered voters in Philadelphia do not have the required ID and will be prevented from voting if they are unable to obtain all of the documentation necessary to obtain the ID. There are many volunteers helping these folks apply for official birth certificates and social security cards as well as transportation to PennDot centers-- but the fact remains that a percentage of otherwise LEGALLY REGISTERED VOTERS will be prevented from voting because of this law. Whatever your opinion of these people or your ideas of how simple obtaining an ID actually is, the enforcement of this law would make for an inherently unfair election.

Nationwide do you know how many cases of actual voter fraud that have been prosecuted hat led to conviction a whopping 13!

Do you know how.many votes nationwide have been cast in that time 600,000,000. Six hundred MILLION.

You have better odds of winning lottery and getting hit by lighting at the exact same time yet EVERY state with. Republican legislature passed some sort of voter id bill. Coincidence. I think not. Voter ID is an. Unpatriotic way of suppressing the vote for the poor which tend to vote Democrat. Its the only explanation based on the numbers. You had a GOP Pennsylvania state rep. Basically let the cat out of he bag and say voter id bill was to "help" Romney.

A Poll Tax by definition is a tax per head, levied on individuals as a prerequisite for voting, which is unconstitutional in the United States of America and a Tax is a compulsory payment.

Many American's are finding that they must pay at (minimum) $50.00 to $100.00 in fees to obtain documents that are required to prove they are who they say they are in an effort to get the Republican Party Mandated Identification.

Those fees are a prerequisite for these Americans to be able to freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, whether it be direct or indirect, which make these laws a Republican Party Mandated Poll Tax.... A violation of our constitutional rights.

In response to "A Friend"'s comment: "Does letting people vote without having a proper ID present a risk of similar magnitude?" I think that most everyone is in agreement that verifying a voter's ID should be required and that a "proper ID" should be stipulated. The problem is that the law is so stringent that a percentage of people will not be able to obtain the documentation before the election (less than 120 days away). Require ID but don't make the law so strict that voters who are otherwise LEGALLY REGISTERED will be prevented from casting a ballot.

Not only is voter fraud rarer than someone getting hit by lightning, but this law will not stop the biggest source of this rare occurrence, absentee ballot fraud. The Pennsylvania law specifically exempts absentee voters from having to provide a photo ID.

As I've said before, maybe that has something to do with the fact that the majority of absentee voters are registered Republicans. Maybe??

Hey, if you're for proof of voter ID, how come you aren't demanding tighter controls on absentee voting?

While I"m at it: if you're for more qualified voters voting, how come you haven't demanded a single law to make voting easier for qualified voters?

Funny, our legislators spend more time worrying about voter fraud instead of the real issue, Banking fraud. We have JP morgan and this LIBOR scandal and no politician wants to do anything about it. We are being fleeced by the banks and politicians want to distract us with voter ID laws. And we pay them for this, and pay for their health insurance. what an unfunny joke.

Suburban voters have know idea of the financial cost, lack of transportation, time necessary to obtain required documents, and being able to have the time it takes, available for those who work more than one job or work every day of the week.

The ignorance surrounding this violation of the American peoples constitutional rights is astounding. The attitude of, well it doesn't impact me negatively, so everyone else is just lazy, doesn't have the same constitutional rights, and/or is an illegal is sickening. And yet we still wonder why the same political party that has invented this make believe problem also believes that Iraq attacked the United States on September 11th.

Chris Dyer believes that the DMV is open at night? Talk about a joke! And again Chris continues to prove that there are costs incurred, no matter how small, that Americans are being forced to pay (a Tax)... a Poll Tax to be able to freely exercise their right to vote.

Earnest, you are talking to people who do not want to believe you, regardless of facts. I bet the last time their car was in the shop they didn't take the bus to work did they? Unless you have lived the life you really don't get it. I like you understand the plight and get accused daily of being a bleeding liberal because I have seen how hard it is.

The bottom line for me is that this is a poll tax, a blatant violation of the Constitution. If you want ID fine. But, what we use for ID must be broader than what they want. My picture ID at work does not have an expiration date on it. I work with many who don't drive, who realize that this ID won't work. And as you said getting to the DMV is not easy. Getting a birth certificate, not cheap and what if you were not born in PA, or worse yet, not born in a hospital. God forbid you were born in the south in the backwoods rural counties. Having worked a job once where I helped people seek documents to establish their date of birth, I will tell you 120 days is not even close to what it may take to seek documents, or get a legal determination made of a date of birth.

Frank, there isn't any law that (forces) you to spend your money to drive your car to a polling place.

Americans can chose to go to the polling place or chose not to go. In the United States there is no voting requirement. In fact, it has been made easier for Americans to vote via the absentee ballot for those American citizens who are not in town on election day or do not have the physical ability to go to the polls.

The answer to your question is no. Driving to the polls is not legislated.

The republicans are hoping everyone just says not worth it.

Many people who are commenting do not realize that many people have ID, it just isn't the proper id to vote in PA. If you just moved here, but live in the city and don't have a car now you may have a driver's license from another state. If you got married and the name on your license doesn't match the name on your voter registration, you have ID, just not the proper ID. If you stopped driving, got divorced, remarried, you need a birth certificate and the marriage and divorce certificates to get ID. All the PA DMV offices do not do photo ID's making it even more inconvenient for someone to get ID.

Yep, and that's why we are going to fight back! Talk to friends, especially young and elderly voters. Make sure that they understand the new voter ID law and what to do if they don't have valid photo ID. There's a lot of confusion... so we have to work to educate all voters. Volunteer with an organization and help to fight back against this unfair law and voter disenfranchisement in Pennsylvania.

The Committee of Seventy is one such organization that you can volunteer with:
215-848-1283
http://www.seventy.org/Elections_Voter_ID.aspx

I am going to senior centers in the area to educate them about voter ID. If you have questions, click on my name and leave me a question. All the info in this article is not accurate. Student, govt and most military IDs need expiration dates on them and can't be expired. Your name on the license has to match the voter registration roll. Nov is going to be pandemonium.