BREAKING: Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturns voter ID law

[jaxx]

BREAKING: Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturns voter ID law

— Scott Keyes (@smkeyes) September 18, 2012

Nothing else yet, but Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!

[jaxx]

Unless the lower court changes the right to all Voters & ease of Voter IDs, the PA Supreme Court will rule against the PA GOP ID law.

— Jeff Gauvin (@JeffersonObama) September 18, 2012

[janedrake]

Hey, Jaxx - that is fantastic, if true - but lest I do a "Jean Schmidt," am still looking for some confirmation.

[jaxx]

Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Sent Back By State Supreme Court To Lower Court For Reconsideration

Posted: 09/18/2012 1:43 pm Updated: 09/18/2012 1:56 pm

In a potentially significant victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court with instructions for that judge to reconsider issuing an injunction.

"We are not satisfied with a mere predictive judgment based primarily on the assurances of government officials," the court wrote.

<..> If those procedures are not being followed, or if the judge was "not still convinced...that there will be no voter disenfranchisement arising out of the Commonwealth’s implementation of a voter identification requirement for purposes of the upcoming election" then he would be "obliged to enter a preliminary injunction," the higher court wrote.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18...lp00000003

[Brewman_Jax]

This is great news!

[janedrake]

Excellent! Thank you, Jaxx! I am particularly moved by one of the judge's dissent:

Quote:Justice Seamus P. McCaffery wrote in his dissent:
I was elected by the people of our Commonwealth, by Republicans, Democrats, Independents and others, as was every single Justice on this esteemed Court. I cannot now be a party to the potential disenfranchisement of even one otherwise qualified elector, including potentially many elderly and possibly disabled veterans who fought for the rights of every American to exercise their fundamental American right to vote. While I have no argument with the requirement that all Pennsylvania voters, at some reasonable point in the future, will have to present photo identification before they may cast their ballots, it is clear to me that the reason for the urgency of implementing Act 18 prior to the November 2012 election is purely political. That has been made abundantly clear by the House Majority Leader. I cannot in good conscience participate in a decision that so clearly has the effect of allowing politics to trump the solemn oath that I swore to uphold our Constitution. That Constitution has made the right to vote a right verging on the sacred, and that right should never be trampled by partisan politics.

[sandnsea]

I wish they would reject picture ID AND pre-registration. That would be like requiring a gun owner to register a month in advance, AND go through the ID background check. If it's unconstitutional for one, it's unconstitutional for the other. If your registration is accepted, that should be the end of it. If you want a picture ID, then eliminate registration, it isn't necessary.

[Hekate]

This will stand as legal precedent in the other cases.

Hekate