PIITSBURG POST-GAZETTE Opinion: Voting in Pennsylvania used to be a civic duty involving trust and personal relationships.
The first time someone voted in a precinct, he or she was asked for identification. With each visit thereafter, voters and poll workers would often get to know each other and friendly greetings would be exchanged. The signature was checked, but an ID was not necessary.
That is what used to be, but with one stroke of his pen Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday made voting a transaction of universal suspicion. Everybody must now show an approved ID. A poll worker might know an older voter for 40 years, but it doesn’t matter.
The elderly, the poor and minorities are the groups most likely not to have a photo ID card. Too bad for them. The new law requiring voter ID is a matter of principle, not practicality. It is a solution to no documented problem… (more)
