Student Handout Number 6.   “Pennsylvania: House Approves Restrictive Voter ID's” “By a 103 to 96 margin, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved an election reform bill (S.B. 824) that includes restrictive voter    ID    provisions.    The    ID    provisions    were    added    in    an amendment offered by  Rep.  Daryl  Metcalfe  (R-12).  The  bill  wo uld require all Pennsylvania voters to show a photo ID or county voter registration  card,  unless  they  dissent  based  on  religious  grounds. Other non-photo documentary identification (i.e., utility bills, credit cards,   EBT   cards,   or   library   cards)   would   not   be   accepted. Likewise, voters who do not have adequate identification would not be  permitted  to  cast  a  provisional  or  affidavit  ballot.  Voters  in Pennsylvania  are  required  only  to  provide  a  signature  at  the  polls. The bill was sent to the Senate for consideration but was not taken up before the start of the summer recess. If  passed  into  law,  Pennsylvania  would  join  South  Carolina  in having  the  most  restrictive  voter  ID  requirements  in  the  country. South Carolina is currently the only state that leaves voters without an option if they do not have a photo ID at the polls. A number of state  photo  ID  requirements  have  been  overturned  by  the  courts because  of  their  disparate  impact  on  low- income  communities  and people  of  color.  Advocates  from  the  ACLU and the  NAACP have threatened  litigation  in  Pennsylvania  if  the  Senate  approves  the restrictive     voter     ID     requirement.     AP     6/28/02     &     6/29/02, Philadelphia Inquirer 6/28/02 & 7/6/02.”