Lawmaker opposes proposed voting requirement
HARRISBURG — State Reps. Peter J. Daley, D-California, and Ted Harhai, D-Monessen, on Thursday opposed a bill that would require voters to show photo identification to be able to vote in an election.
Harhai said his opposition to the bill (House Bill 934), which passed the House 108-88, centers on several factors. One is that the ID plan would be a $10 million program in search of a problem to address.
“I can count on one hand the instances of voter fraud that have been cited in Pennsylvania in the last decade, and those involved individuals, not massive voter fraud,” Harhai said. “It does not warrant spending millions of dollars on a nonexistent problem when education and health programs are being slashed and more pressure being put on local taxpayers.
“To be able to vote, you must sign a registry while the poll worker looks on and can simultaneously compare it to a verified signature that is upside down to the voter. If one can forge a signature that easily, they’d have a show in Las Vegas.”
Harhai said he was particularly offended when, in a close to party-line vote, the House rejected an amendment that would exempt registered voters ages 62 and older from having to produce a photo ID.
At that age, he said, some begin experiencing infirmities that prevent them from driving, so they no longer have a photo driver’s license. That would mean that they would have to make at least one special trip to acquire a photo ID issued by the state Department of Transportation, something not required of voters who have licenses.
“I spend a lot of time at polling places, and I see seniors in their 80s and 90s coming in on canes, walkers and wheelchairs to vote. A good number have hats or emblems that identify them as a veteran. It is a major effort for them,” said Harhai. “They haven’t driven in years.
“Once inside the polling place, this bill would require that the poll worker reject them because they don’t have a photo ID — people who haven’t missed voting in decades — all to guard against a problem that doesn’t exist other than in the minds of a core of people trying to scare the public into believing there’s an army of voter-fraud zombies ready to climb in the windows.”
Daley said, “Voting is a fundamental constitutional right and I do not support any efforts to limit any individual’s ability to exercise that right.” “The reality of this bill is that it will disproportionately affect a few groups of individuals — those who do not hold driver’s licenses. In many cases this is an economic decision for the family.”
The bill advances to the Senate.