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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	December 3, 2020 11:28 AM
From:	Senator Judy Ward
To:	All Senate members
Subject:	Voter ID Law

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. In light of challenges to photo ID laws in other states and a Commonwealth Court ruling that nullified Pennsylvania’s 2012 voter ID law, I am 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. Under my proposal, the forms of ID that will be acceptable are the same as the options that are currently available to first-time voters in PA. They include the following forms of photo and non-photo ID: Driver’s license or PennDOT non-driver ID card Photo or non-photo ID card issued by other state agency Photo or non-photo ID card issued by the U.S. government Student ID with photo Employee ID with photo Armed Forces of the U.S. ID card Firearm permit Current utility bill Current bank statement Government check If a voter is unable to present a valid photo ID, he or she will be required to present two forms of non-photo ID from among those listed above. I believe that this approach strikes a balance between the goal of protecting the integrity of each vote cast and the goal of ensuring that eligible voters possess or can obtain necessary valid ID. At the present time, a total of 35 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, all of which were in force in 2018. Among these states Ohio, Arizona and North Dakota permit both photo and non-photo ID This will be a companion bill to Representative Jeff Wheeland's proposal. Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation.

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