Dermody Says Voter ID Law Could Prevent Him, Thousands of Others From Voting

House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody is saying that the state's new voter ID law could prevent thousands residents—including himself—from voting in the upcoming general election.

On Tuesday, the state representative from Oakmont said the Pennsylvania Department of State is failing to adequately warn voters who might lack the photo identification required to vote this November under the new law (Act 18) that is currently being challenged in Commonwealth Court.

“Last week, I received a letter from the department, the agency that is implementing the new photo ID requirements,” Dermody said in a press release. “The form letter, addressed to ‘Dear Fellow Voter,’ simply talked about the new photo ID law and gave instructions for contacting PennDOT if I lack a valid ID.

“But the letter gave no explanation of why it was sent. Only when my staff checked the statewide list did we piece together that I am one of the 758,000 registered Pennsylvania voters who the state flagged as possibly not having a valid photo ID. My constitutional right to vote is in danger, along with 3,700 other people in my House district alone.”

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Dermody's ID came in questions because his driver’s license states he is Frank J. Dermody. However, his birthname is Francis.

Dermody noted that the lawyers defending the state in court have pointed with pride to educational efforts undertaken to let people know how to meet the new requirement.

“The problem is this letter does not do what the state claims it does. There is no explicit warning that the recipient of the letter may lack the proper ID. People who have voted for years without problems know little about the new law and will assume they are fine,” Dermody said.

“Nothing in this letter will make them think otherwise or get them to check their ID. My guess is many people threw away the letter without giving it another thought."

Dermody said sending a letter is not an adequate action.

“If this letter was truly the first step in a statewide educational campaign, then I have to question the planning that went into it and the overall effectiveness at reaching voters, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost to mail this letter,” Dermody said.

The representative said the letter he and three-quarters of a million other voters received made no mention of the new ID that the Department of State is preparing to offer voters who are unable to produce a birth certificate or Social Security card.

 “The governor signed a bad law to fix a voter impersonation ‘problem’ that doesn’t exist in real life. His appointees now are scrambling to put lipstick on a pig,” Dermody said. “They keep coming up with new plans to implement the law months after it passed.”

In spite of the limited locations and reduced office hours for Pennsylvania voters to obtain a photo ID, the Corbett administration testified last week they do not plan to extend the license center operating hours and do not intend to offer mobile ID units to make the process more accessible, according to the release.

“The Republican majority rushed this legislation to the governor’s desk in March to satisfy a political agenda. Not a single Democrat voted for it,” Dermody said. “Considering the epic problems the state is having now in trying to implement the law, the best alternative at this point is for the court to end the confusion, preserve the constitutional right to vote for all Pennsylvanians, and save the state millions of dollars by suspending or overturning the law.”

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