County officials, ACLU challenge voter ID law
Allegheny County officials will join forces with the ACLU and other organizations to challenge the state's new Voter ID law.
The law, which will require voters to produce one of several types of government-approved photo identification before they can cast ballots, is scheduled to take effect for the Nov. 6 general election. The measure was signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in March.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald will outline his administration's support for legal efforts to block the implementation of the new requirement at a 2 p.m. press conference today.
Among those joining him at the courthouse event will be Controller Chelsa Wagner. Wagner said her office will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the challenge to the Voter ID law now pending in Commonwealth Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Advancement Project, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C., law firm of Arnold & Porter last month asked appeals court judges to overturn the law.
Their complaint alleges that the photo ID requirement violates the state Constitution by making it harder for some citizens, especially the elderly and minorities, to vote.
The law, which will require voters to produce one of several types of government-approved photo identification before they can cast ballots, is scheduled to take effect for the Nov. 6 general election. The measure was signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in March.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald will outline his administration's support for legal efforts to block the implementation of the new requirement at a 2 p.m. press conference today.
Among those joining him at the courthouse event will be Controller Chelsa Wagner. Wagner said her office will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the challenge to the Voter ID law now pending in Commonwealth Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Advancement Project, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C., law firm of Arnold & Porter last month asked appeals court judges to overturn the law.
Their complaint alleges that the photo ID requirement violates the state Constitution by making it harder for some citizens, especially the elderly and minorities, to vote.