State Rep. Dean Reacts to Voter ID Law Ruling

Moments ago, State Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-153, reacted to the

Pennsylvania passed the law in March requiring all registered voters to show a valid and "acceptable" photo ID before voting. This is one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation.

“I’m disappointed with Judge [Robert] Simpson’s ruling,” Dean said. “It is a law that’s aimed to combat voter fraud, and there’s no evidence of in-person voter fraud. It’s a little incredulous, and it’s a little costly.”

According to Dean, the law is estimated to cost between $5 million and $12 million to implement.

“This happened at a time when we just went through budget season — programs were cut from needy citizens, and now we’re combating a problem that does not exist,” she said.

Dean said about 10 percent of voters in her district are at risk of not being able to vote in November — about 4,200 people. Many of them are elderly who have had their drivers' licenses expire.

Dean said she has been visiting several retirement communities in the area in an effort to ensure that the people living there have the proper ID and are in compliance with the law. 

“I am seeing the faces of the people affected by this,” Dean said. “They are upset and angry.

“I just spoke to a woman who is 98 years old in Rydal Park,” she continued. “These are people who have voted their entire adult lives, and they are rattled [by the decision].”

Dean said she and her local office are “doing everything possible to help,” including helping people fill out forms to obtain a new state-issued ID. She added that she is looking into the possibility — and the legality — of driving those affected by the law to PennDOT centers.