Birth Certificate Rule Dropped for Pa. Voter IDs

Gov. Tom Corbett's administration said Wednesday that it is dropping a requirement that voters present a birth certificate if they are trying to get a free, non-driver state photo identification card that satisfies Pennsylvania's tough new voter ID law.
 
State agencies can now certify the birth records of Pennsylvania natives without requiring them to pay $10 for a duplicate birth certificate with a raised seal. A person seeking the non-driver photo ID must visit a PennDOT driver's license center.
 
A birth certificate had been one of the documents required to get a state photo ID for the first time. The applicant will be notified by mail when to pick up the photo ID card once the Department of Health verifies that it has the birth record on file.
 
The Department of State said the process is supposed to take 10 days, shortening a months-long period that some people have waited recently to receive a birth certificate.
 
Until now, people applying for the non-driver ID cards were required to provide a Social Security card and either a birth certificate with a raised seal, a certificate of U.S. citizenship or certificate of naturalization, plus two proofs of residency, such as a utility bill or a lease agreement.
 
Last month, the administration said voters whose Pennsylvania driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards expired more than a year ago can now use them to qualify for the photo IDs if they lack other forms of identification permitted under the new voter ID law.
 
The two-month-old law, which will be enforced starting in the Nov. 6 general election, requires all voters to show photo ID before their ballots will be counted. The law lists acceptable types of identification, including a state driver's license that is current or expired for a year or less.
 
Voters who lack a photo ID can cast a provisional ballot, but must provide eligible identification to county election officials within six calendar days or the ballot won't be counted.
 
The law is being challenged in court by 10 registered voters, including some who say they do not have photo ID and cannot get the kind now required because their birth states do not have their birth certificates on file.
 
The lawsuit contends that the law violates the state constitution's "free and equal" elections clause and another clause that establishes qualifications to vote in Pennsylvania.
 
Corbett administration officials say they believe the law will withstand a court challenge. Corbett, a Republican, signed the law March 14 after it passed the GOP-controlled state Legislature over the objections of Democrats, the AARP, the ACLU, the NAACP, labor unions and good-government groups.