Voters will not have to present proper photo identification when they head to the polls next month, after a judge blocked the state’s new voter-ID law this week.
In an Oct. 2 ruling, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said there was not enough time for the law to be properly implemented before the Nov. 6 election.
Simpson, who previously upheld the law but was ordered to reevaluate by the state Supreme Court, issued a partial injunction to block its enforcement until next year, when it will be enforced in full.
It is unclear if the state will appeal Simpson’s ruling.
Last spring, Republican lawmakers approved legislation that mandated all voters present appropriate state-issued identification.
If the measure had been allowed to stand, it was expected to disproportionately affect low-income, minority and elderly voters, as well as transgender and gender non-conforming voters, whose presentation may not reflect the photo on their IDs.
Jerome M. Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the law was “hatefully crafted.”
“The idea that you could have a restriction on thousands of voters is wrong,” he said.
Philadelphia City Commissioner Stephanie Singer considered the ruling a victory for democracy, one that she hopes will get people out to the polls next month.
“We can disagree on whether we should have any voter-ID law but there is one thing we have to agree on, and that is that no one should be disenfranchised,” she said. “We have 1.1 million Philadelphians eligible to vote. I hope to see 1.1 million Philadelphians voting in November. We have to keep working because if we don’t go out and vote, we disenfranchise ourselves and our city.”
Mazzoni Center legal director David Rosenblum, who advocated for the overturning of the law, noted that the judge’s injunction was partial, and that poll workers can still request ID — but voters need not present it, yet.
“He put on hold the part where you need an ID in November. What he did say is that they can still ask you for your identification,” Rosenblum said. “Even if you go to the polls and they ask you for ID, you don’t have to show it and you will still be able to vote and have your vote counted.”
He called the process a “soft roll-out” of the law, which will get people used to being asked for ID in future elections.
Rosenblum noted, however, that it is still a huge victory.
“It is a wonderful thing,” he said. “This is the only logical thing to do in this late stage of the game. This will make sure that everyone who wants to vote will have a chance to. I hope people won’t take this for granted. It is important to have our voices heard, especially in the LGBT community. We need to be a part of the discussion.”