Poll: What Do You Think of the Voter ID Decision?

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson upheld Pennsylvania’s , but that’s not the end of the story.

At the conclusion of the hearing, both sides said they would appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court if they lost. In this case, the loser is American Civil Liberties Union legal director Vic Walczak.

He told The Washington Post that the case isn't over. “It’s why they make appeals courts.”

Do you agree with the verdict? Leave a comment.

The ACLU and the NAACP claim voter ID laws disenfranchises voters, especially the elderly, the poor and minorities.

Proponents of voter ID laws, including State Senator Daryl Metcalfe (R-12th District) who introduced the Pennsylvania bill, say the law is meant to prevent voter fraud.

In Horsham, Judge of Elections Peter Choate said fraud is something he's never seen in his roughly 12 years serving two different voting districts.

"I’m not familiar at my polling place of ever having any significant problems with knowing who the voters are," Choate told Patch following Simpson's decision Wednesday morning. "We know most everboy because we all live in the precinct or district that we help the voters vote at."

However, Choate said he can not understand why voters would not have access to an accessible form of identification.

"I believe, not as a judge of elections, but as a person who’s voted for 50 years, by golly if you need an ID to fly on a plane, an ID to go on a cruise ship … why wouldn’t you need some sort of proof to vote?" Choate asked. "You need ID to buy a gun ... There’s so many things that you need ID for."

From the start, this issue has split Republicans and Democrats, and if it goes to the State Supreme Court, it could get the same reception. The Court has only six members now: three Republicans and three Democrats. The seventh Justice, Joan Orie Melvin, was suspended earlier this year on corruption charges. She is a Republican.

Wes Oliver, associate professor of law with Duquesne University School of Law, told PA Independent that in the case of a stalemate, the lower court’s decision sticks.

Choate, who has been judge of elections for the township's largest voting district for eight years, said on some levels, he wishes the law could be "postponed."

"All the other judges of elections in the area are going to be suffereing on election day, because there will still be a lot of people … who are unaware of the ID," Choate said. "Even if it’s 5 percent it’s going to be a problem." 

Requiring ID, particularly for those unfamiliar with the law, will slow things down at the polls, and Choate fears may cause voters to argue. 

"No judge wants to turn anyone away from voting," he said. 

At least within his district, Choate said he'd be willing to transport voters to PennDOT facilities so they could obtain acceptable identification for election day.

"I think all in all there’s a reasaonable need for it," Choate said of the Voter ID law.