Dear Jim,
They've gotten so brazen, Republicans are actually publicly bragging about their attempt to steal the 2012 election.
Back in October of 2011, CREDO Action members fought to stop a voter identification bill in Pennsylvania that would disenfranchise thousands of voters statewide in advance of the 2012 presidential election. Republicans said they were concerned about so-called (but effectively non-existent) voter fraud. The bill passed and was signed into law by Republican Governor Tom Corbett.
But just this weekend, Pennsylvania Republican House Leader Mike Turzai (R-PA) admitted the bill was about handing Pennsylvania's all-important electoral votes to Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
At a Republican State Committee meeting Turzai listed the biggest accomplishments of the Republican-led legislature1, stating:
"Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it's done. First pro-life legislation — abortion facility regulations — in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done."
It's now more clear than ever — the Pennsylvania legislature passed a voter identification bill in order to disenfranchise thousands of voters across the state. The bill requires voters to show a valid form of photo identification when they head to the polls, and the information on the ID including current address must match exactly their voter registration information. This bill doesn't serve any purpose other than making it much harder for students, seniors, and lower-income citizens to vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is the highest ranking Congressional body with jurisdiction over federal voting issues. Sen. Patrick Leahy is the chairman and ranking Democrat on the committee. We need him to hold hearings immediately to investigate actions by Pennsylvania Republicans to interfere with the outcome of a federal election.
The Pennsylvania legislature should be trying to help more eligible voters participate in the democratic process, not disenfranchising seniors, students and the poor. And it certainly should not be disenfranchising U.S. citizens for the explicit purpose of swinging the battleground state of Pennsylvania to Republican Mitt Romney in November.
The bill Turzai was bragging about helps Republicans by making it difficult for members of the Pennsylvania electorate who move a lot, like students and lower-income voters, to be able to vote without going through costly and time consuming procedures to get new photo identification every time they move. Senior citizen voters are also disproportionately affected because they may not be able to drive or might not be physically able to travel to obtain new photo identification.
It's not okay for Pennsylvania Republicans to pick and choose which Pennsylvanians are able to vote. No one should be able to take away a U.S. citizen's right to vote. Now that the bill has passed, federal intervention is necessary to stop the state's Republicans from stealing the presidential election.
Click below to automatically sign the petition:
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6903999&p=pennsylvania_election_protection&id=42425-3441008-Wjt2r7x&t=10
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6903999&p=pennsylvania_election_protection&id=42425-3441008-Wjt2r7x&t=10
Thank you for standing up for the right to vote.
Becky Bond, Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. Pennsylvania Republican: Voter ID Laws Are Gonna Allow Governor Romney To Win, Think Progress, June 25, 2012
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