Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 8, 2021 09:52 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jeff C. Wheeland |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Constitutional Amendment: Providing for Voter Identification |
| As a companion to my proposed legislation relating to voter identification, I also plan to introduce legislation amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to require voters to provide valid identification in order to vote in an election. The premise behind voter ID laws is to ensure that individuals are not misrepresenting themselves when voting and thus, potentially negating the votes of others. Voter ID laws can also serve to increase public confidence in the election process. Legal challenges to these photo ID requirements have occurred in some states, including here in Pennsylvania with a 2012 Commonwealth Court ruling nullifying our current statutory requirements. In addition to proposing a bill that applies the voter ID requirement to each and every election and includes both photo and non-photo options on the list of acceptable forms of ID, this measure, if approved in two consecutive sessions, would place a proposed amendment on the ballot in 2023. This would result in the voters deciding if identification should be required at each election, thereby enhancing election integrity and election security, and increasing voter confidence. Please consider cosponsoring this important proposal. |
Introduced as HB1596