Pennsylvania attempts to salvage voter ID law by easing requirements

Officials in Pennsylvania on Tuesday attempted to save the states's voter photo ID law by easing restrictions just days before a court was poised to block the measure.

Under the new guidelines, voters will no longer have to present two documents showing where they live to be issued a photo ID, according to The Wall Street Journal. But a person must still swear that they have no other form of ID and provide their name, Social Security number, date of birth and address.

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court ordered the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg to decide by Oct. 2 if the state had met its promise of providing easy access to photo IDs for voting.

"[I]f the Commonwealth Court is not still convinced in its predictive judgment that there will be no voter disenfranchisement arising out of the Commonwealth’s implementation of a voter identification requirement for purposes of the upcoming election, that court is obliged to enter a preliminary injunction," the Pennsylvania high court said in its opinion.

Brookings Institution nonresident fellow Michael McDonald recently told Fox News host Shepard Smith that the instances of in-person voter fraud were as rare as "winning the lottery."

A study by the Brennan Center for Justice warned last year that voting restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers could suppress as many as 5 million votes in 2012.

[Photo: Shutterstock.com]

(h/t: Think Progress)