HARRISBURG – With a voter identification constitutional amendment having languished in committee for nearly a year, despite bipartisan support for the concept among both the public and House members, House Republicans held a press conference Monday announcing they will be utilizing the discharge resolution process to advance the measure.
House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) noted 22 House Democrats voted to support enhanced voter identification requirements in a prior House vote, meaning only three more Democrats need to sign on to the discharge petition to get the constitutional amendment out of committee.
“For nearly a year, this legislation has sat in committee. And that is despite poll after poll after poll telling us that requiring identification to vote at each and every election is supported on a broad, bipartisan basis,” Cutler said.
“Commonsense tells us that as more and more proposals are introduced to make our elections harder to administer and less secure, that simply requiring a state-provided identification at each election is the best way to enhance election integrity. Time is of the essence.”
House Republican State Government Committee Chairman Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie) discussed how requiring Pennsylvanians to provide identification each time they vote makes sense.
“You need photo identification to sign up for a library card or apply for a marriage license, but not to vote in Pennsylvania,” Roae said.
“So, if your polling location is in a library, make sure you bring identification in order to be able to check out books, but don’t worry about needing it to vote. The vast majority of people agree about the need to show identification to vote. It’s time to put it in law.”
The co-prime sponsors of House Bill 891, the voter identification constitutional amendment, are Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland) and Rep. Thomas Kutz (R-Cumberland).
Ecker noted the significant bipartisan support the concept of enhanced voter identification has.
“Pennsylvanians overwhelming support enhanced voter identification. As a result, this legislation deserves a vote by the House,” he said.
“That is why I support expediating a voter identification bill so that we can have a conversation in the House about securing our elections in a bipartisan manner.”
Similarly, Kutz spoke on the need to work on simple election integrity measures, like Voter ID that will protect the security of our elections for the future.
“Voter ID is an easy way to encourage participation in elections while ensuring they are free, fair, safe and secure,” Kutz said. “It is important we institute initiatives that safeguard this system for current and future generations of Pennsylvania residents.”
The discharge petition resolution will be officially offered later Monday in the House chamber.
You can watch the entire press conference here: https://pagopvideo.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/484400470.mp4.
