Editorials: Pennsylvania Voter ID Bill



Halting of Voter ID Law is a Risky Move in a Close Election
By: Erin Worbs

While many are celebrating last Tuesday’s controversial ruling on
Pennsylvania’s Voter I.D. Law, P.L. 195, No. 18 (Act 18), this is not a
victory for voters. Although the judge’s ruling did not in fact end this
law, it did prevent it from going into effect until after this year’s
Election Day.  Despite an extreme amount of negative press that has come
out in protest of this law, it is not nearly as extremist or radical as
some people may think.  It simply requires voters to show a valid form of
photo identification when they vote.

To be completely honest, prior to this law getting all of this attention,
I had no idea that identification was not already required to vote
everywhere in the United States. The last two times I went to vote (in
2010 and 2011) I was asked to show my ID which I gladly did, because I
thought I had to. If you are in fact a citizen of the United States there
is no reason for you not to have state issued identification. And, despite
many peoples’ misconceptions, this does not require having a driver’s
license. Pitt students, for example, would not have been affected by this
law at all because our student IDs are valid forms of identification. And
those who are not students and do not have a license can simply go to the
DMV to apply for an identification card. This process is not difficult and
is recommended for all citizens without licenses, regardless of voting
implications.

Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Law is not a form of voter disenfranchisement
because it is simply requiring something that all U.S. citizens have the
ability and right to obtain. Therefore, it does not discriminate against
any group, and I do not believe that it would end up favoring either party
because, like I previously mentioned, all citizens, regardless of
political party, socioeconomic status, age, gender, or race, have the
right to identification, as long as they go through the proper steps to
obtain it.

The judge that issued the ruling agreed with most of my previously
mentioned points, so he did not overturn the law, but simply postponed it
from going into effect until after Election Day. His reasoning was that he
did not believe people had an adequate amount of time to obtain
identification. I do not agree with this, as this law has been discussed
for several months, and there has been a pretty extensive media campaign
by the state of Pennsylvania advising citizens to get ID if they wanted to
vote.  With this being the year of a presidential election, as well as a
race for a few different Pennsylvania seats in Congress, voter fraud is a
very legitimate concern. There is no way of telling how close these
elections will be, and I would prefer not to risk any cases of voter fraud
as it is very possible that (especially with Pennsylvania being a swing
state) this year’s election could be very similar to the 2000 presidential
election in which every single vote cast in Florida made a huge impact and
the entire election could have been changed with just a few hundred votes.
 Without requiring identification, voter fraud is simply made easier for
the few individuals that choose to disregard our electoral process and
commit that crime.

I hope for the sake of this year’s election, and for our government, that
I am wrong and that the postponement of this law will not result in
increased voter fraud, but I am glad that voter identification will be
required in future elections.

Citizens’ Representative Rights Upheld in Voter ID Ruling

By: Kevin Kerr

Tuesday’s ruling on the state’s controversial Voter I.D. Law, P.L. 195,
No. 18 (Act 18), serves to uphold the natural rights of citizens to elect
their representatives.  This is done in a manner that has been used with a
great deal of success for decades in this country.  I applaud the courts
decision that, most importantly, citizens do not have an appropriate
amount of time to obtain such forms of identification in order to be
permitted to vote.

Voter fraud, although statistically a very minor problem, is not something
that we should entirely ignore.  I do agree with the fact that a
discussion should take place on how to prevent such measures from
occurring, but a last minute, admittedly politically motivated decision is
not the way to accomplish that.  Over time, a voter identification law
could serve its purpose with ample clarity and bipartisan support in tying
up the loose ends of the concept.  Advertising the requirement will need
to be far more effective.  Publicizing and clarifying the specifics of
identification requirements will need to be far more effective.  People
will need to know exactly what to do and have the time to do it.

Again, the idea that identification should be required to vote is not a
completely outrageous one; but the idea that it can be implemented in such
a short period of time is.  Methods of informing voters were ineffective
and hasty and identification requirements were unclear for quite some
time, especially in regards to student voters. Last, and most importantly,
the law’s design stood to have a very serious political impact on
citizens’ representation and the outcome of the elections this November. 
As Representative Mike Turzai said, “Voter ID will allow Governor Romney
to win Pennsylvania.”

No thank you, Congressman. I’d rather have the voters make that decision,
and because of this ruling, they still can.

Election Coverage: Meet the Congressional Candidates 

As part of its continuing election coverage, the GRC blog is providing profiles of all the candidates on the ballot this November in Pittsburgh.  This week, we will look at our current congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives and the contender for that position.

Representative Mike Doyle, D-PA 14^th District:

Michael Doyle is a native of Pittsburgh and a current resident of the suburb of Forest Hills.  He comes from a family of steelworkers and worked briefly in the industry while attending Penn State University, where he received a B.S. in Community Development in 1975.  He was a small business owner, insurance agent, a member of a borough council, and a staffer for state Sen. Frank Pecora from 1978-1994.  He was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 and has served there since.

On the current issue of the economy, Doyle favors a system of combined stimulus and tax reform, reducing taxes on the middle and lower class while increasing them for the upper class.  He voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009.  He voted against a deficit reduction plan in 2011 which he claimed would hurt payroll growth while leaving tax breaks for companies and the upper class untouched.  He has advocated strongly for alternative fuel source research, citing the nation’s current dependence on oil.  He has also voted against granting permanent normal trade status to China.

On social and domestic issues, Doyle plays a variety of roles.  He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and on two subcommittees on Energy and Power and on Communications and Technology.  He is co-founder and chair of various caucuses to promote a fuel-efficient model of decentralized power generation, promote development in the field of robotics, promote research and education on autism, and various other caucuses on steel, human rights, and the Internet.  He voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.  He is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and granting full legal protection to same-sex couples.  He voted in favor of requiring gun show dealers to conduct criminal background checks and in favor of banning partial-birth abortions.

U.S. House profile: http://doyle.house.gov/

Campaign website: http://mikedoyleforcongress.com/

Washington Times profile: http://www.washingtontimes.com/campaign-2012/candidates/michael-mike-f-doyle-255/

Dr. Hans Lessman, Republican challenger for PA 14^th District

Dr. Hans Lessman is a native of Braddock, a suburb of Pittsburgh to the southeast of Swissvale.  He is a current resident of Forest Hills.  He is a graduate of Perdue University and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, where he received his doctorate.  He is a practicing optometrist, president of the Society for the Education of Physicians and Patients, and the 2003 Pennsylvania Optometrist of the Year.  He also has a passion for rowing, history, and the outdoors.

The staple issue of Lessman’s campaign is that of health care, on which he draws on his years of experience as a medical professional.  He opposes Obamacare on the grounds that it will dramatically increase the number of people getting health care, but won’t create new job positions for physicians to provide that care.  He states that he would prefer to eliminate job-benefit healthcare and instead give out tax breaks so people could create their own plan.  He also would prefer a voucher system for health care that allowed for low-income citizens to more directly control their health care plan.

He would like to end the current tiered system of income taxation and replace it with a flat income tax or even create a national sales tax in its place, which he claims would be more efficient and reduce the size of the IRS.  Other staples of his platform are job creation and energy, though it is unclear exactly how he would advance this.

Lessman’s campaign website: http://lessmannforcongress.org/issues

Wall Street Journal Profile: http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/hans-lessmann--PA-H

Washington Times Profile: http://www.washingtontimes.com/campaign-2012/candidates/hans-f-lessmann-61623/

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on campaign: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-local/grass-roots-newcomer-hans-lessmann-takes-on-us-rep-mike-doyle-656528/

Election Coverage:  Meet Your State Senators

As part of the SGB’s ongoing election coverage, we will be presenting you each week with information on your public representatives currently on the ballot and any competitors they may face for their post.  While the following state senators are running unopposed, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the people who are your voice in the state senate. 

For those living in Sutherland Hall and the two adjacent frat complexes: 

Sen. Wayne D. Fontana, D- 42nd District: Senator Wayne Fontana is a native of Beechview, a suburban neighborhood southwest of Southside.  He is a graduate of the Community College of Allegheny County, where he received an associate’s degree in business.  Most of his career was spent in real estate working for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and serving on the Allegheny County Council, where he held several committee chair positions and eventually became Council Vice President until he ran for office as a state senator in 2005.  He is the minority chair of the Community, Economic & Recreational Committee, a member of the Appropriations, Law & Justice, and Urban Affairs & Housing committees, and a board member of the PA Higher Education Assistance Agency. 

Fontana is the sponsor of 2,437 Senate bills, of 48 of which he is the prime sponsor.  Among his prime sponsored bills are bills that place harsher penalties on the murder or assault of a child than those for the murder or assault of an adult; that create harsher penalties for those who neglect a care-dependent person; that elaborate on the process for reporting suspected child abuse by school officials (a bill which has found increased support following the Sandusky scandal); that provide financial aid to public library systems; that provide debt assistance andnew loan programs that aim to combat the current debt crisis; and that create a tax credit for the use of mass transit systems, with the intention of bolstering the use of mass transit. 

Official Website: http://www.senatorfontana.com/ 

PA Senate Website Profile:http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/Senate_bio.cfm?id=1041 2011-2012 

Sponsored Legislation:http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDocs/Legis/BS/bs_action.cfm?SessId=20110&Sponsors=S|42|0|Wayne%20D.%20Fontana 

For those living in Forbes Hall, the Litchfield Towers, Lothrop Hall, the Quad,Sutherland Hall, Pennsylvania Hall, the Fraternity Complex, BouquetGardens, Forbes-Craig, Centre Plaza, Oakwood, and Ruskin Hall: 

Sen. Jay Costa, Jr., D- 43nd District: Senator Jay Costa comes from a family with a long history of public service.  His grandfather, an Italian immigrant to Pittsburgh, became a ward leader and worked with the railroad companies to find work for Italian immigrants.  Jay Costa Sr., the current senator’s father, served as Allegheny County treasurer.  Costa’s two brothers also have a history of public service; his brother Paul is a state representative, his brother Guy served as Pittsburgh Public Works director, and his cousin Dom was featured earlier on this blog as a current state representative.  Jay Costa is a graduate of the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), received a B.A. in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and obtained his degree in law from Duquesne University.  He served as a deputy sheriff for Allegheny County before taking the bar and working for a local law group.  He served in the Allegheny County register of wills from 1992 until 1996, when he ran for state senate.  He is an ex-officio member of the Appropriations Committee and is the current minority chair of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. 

In his sixteen years of service, Costa has sponsored 5,592 Senate bills, of 208 of which he is the prime sponsor.  He counts among his legislative accomplishments bills that impose stricter penalties on child pornography and rape, prevent retaliatory firings of employees who file for worker’s compensation, expand coverage and reduce prescription drug cost for seniors, to reduce Pittsburgh and Allegheny County debt via gaming revenue, expanded state funding for mass transit, and supported bills that would expand CHIP to all children in Pennsylvania.  His current priorities are to create new protections for homeowners from home invasion crimes, increase penalties for theft and fraudulent business practices, write new safeguards into the gaming law, expand affordable healthcare, and grant Allegheny County greater authority to create their own campaign finance reform and smoking bans.  

Official Website: http://www.senatorcosta.com/ 

PA Senate Website Profile:http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senate_bio.cfm?id=254 2011-2012 

Sponsored Legislation:http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDocs/Legis/BS/bs_action.cfm?SessId=20110&Sponsors=S|43|0|Jay%20Costa 

For more on the Costa Family legacy:http://www.iop.pitt.edu/documents/report/Report%2048%20Summer%202011.pdf

Election Coverage:  Meet Your State Representatives

In preparation for the upcoming election, every Friday the GRC blog will feature those who will be on the ticket in the two districts that make up the Oakland campus, starting from local elections and moving on up to the presidential race.  Though the following three representatives in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are running uncontested, please take a minute to get to know the people who serve as your voice in the state government.

For those living in Upper Campus (Sutherland, Pennsylvania and Panther Halls, and Frat Housing), Forbes Hall and Lothrop Hall:

Rep. Jake Wheatley, D- 19th District:  Representative Wheatley was elected in 2003 and will be running for re-election this year.  Originally from Minnesota, he completed his B.A. in Political Science at North Carolina A&T State University before doing his Master of Public Administration at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is a member of the House Committees on Education, Human Services, Veteran Services & Emergency Preparedness, Local Government, and Rules.

He is the sponsor of 1,048 House Bills, for 34 of them he is the prime sponsor (the legislator who claims the most responsibility for the bill and decides who can co-sponsor it).  Of these 34 bills, the majority focus on inner-city issues such as gun control, building and housing codes, providing limited licenses for first-time DUI or drug offenders as a “second chance,” extending the definition of “hazardous school transportation routes” to include areas deemed unsafe by the police, and a redefinition of small businesses that raised the employee cap to 175 rather than 100.  Also prominent in his bill list are bills concerning contracting between the government and businesses, including a bill that added businesses owned and operated by veterans to the list of “disadvantaged businesses” that receive higher priority from the state in contracting.

Rep. Wheatley’s Website: http://www.pahouse.com/wheatley/

PA House Website Profile:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=1026

Sponsored Legislation (2011-2012 only; must filter legislation by year):

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDocs/Legis/BS/bs_action.cfm?SessId=20110&Sponsors=H|19|0|Jake%20Wheatley

For those living in Litchfield Towers, the Quad (Amos Hall, Brackenridge Hall, Bruce Hall, Holland Hall, and McCormick Hall), Bouquet Gardens, Forbes-Craig, Oakwood, Ruskin Hall, and anywhere in South Oakland:

Rep. Dan Frankel, D- 23rd District:  Representative Frankel was elected to the House in 1999 and will be running for re-election this year.  Originally from Pennington, New Jersey, Frankel received his B.S. from Kenyon College before completing the Certificate Program for Senior

Executives in State and Local Government at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  He is a member of the Rules Committee in the House.

He is the sponsor of 4,181 House bills and the prime sponsor of 177 bills. While his career cannot be adequately summarized in a single blog post, we can at least look at his recent initiatives.  Most of his prime sponsored bills from this past House session focus on transportation, specifically motorcycle laws.  He created special motorcycle license plates to denote drivers who are 20 or younger and created an exception to the protective equipment requirement for those who have comprehensive long-term health insurance.  He has also spearheaded efforts to counteract the current voter ID law by establishing mobile units to distribute photo IDs to disadvantaged voters, by creating an electronic voter registration system, and by waiving the $50 fee to obtain a birth certificate (required to obtain a free photo ID) from the state.  Other initiatives include bills prohibit gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination in housing and employment, applying the 1986 Whistleblower Law to employees of oil and gas companies, and requiring medical students to receive training in how to treat and communicate with terminally-ill patients nearing the end of their life.

Rep. Frankel’s Website: http://www.pahouse.com/frankel/

PA House Website Profile:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=84

2011-2012 Sponsored Legislation:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDocs/Legis/BS/bs_action.cfm?SessId=20110&Sponsors=H|23|0|Dan%20Frankel

For those living in Centre Plaza:

Rep. Dom Costa, D- 21st District: Representative Dom Costa is a native citizen of Pittsburgh, having grown up in the suburban area of Penn Hills a few miles northeast of campus.  His family has a record of public service; his uncle, Jay Costa Sr., was Allegheny County Treasurer, and 

he has four cousins serving in various levels of the state and local government.  Originally a 

plumber and later a police officer, Costa was shot while negotiating an armed standoff.  He 

was briefly retired, but soon thereafter was appointed chief of police.  In 2009, Costa ran for 

public office as a state representative.  He is currently the minority chair of the Tourism & 

Recreational Development Subcommittee on Arts and Entertainment, the minority vice chair of the Insurance Committee, and a member of the committees on Gaming Oversight and the 

Judiciary.

In his two sessions in service, Costa has sponsored 1,438 House bills, and was the prime 

sponsor of 21 of them.  His prime sponsored bills focus mostly on law enforcement, as might 

be expected from his background, though he legislates on a number of other issues as well.  

His bills would extend the definition of “aggravated assault” to include school crossing guards, 

service company employees, and volunteer firemen as potential victims; create a special State Police advisory to track and capture those who murder or attempt murder on law enforcement 

officers; protect the home addresses of public school district employees from the 

Right-to-Know Law; require nonpublic schools to create policies on bullying; double the fines on offenses ranging from misdemeanors of the third degree (those warranting up to a year of jail 

time) to murder and attempted murder; create more stringent penalties for supplying inmates 

with tools to escape; and prohibit the creation, possession, and use of EMP weapons and 

devices.

Rep. Costa’s Website: http://pahouse.com/DCosta/

PA House Website Profile:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=1164

2011-2012 Sponsored Legislation:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDocs/Legis/BS/bs_action.cfm?SessId=20110&Sponsors=H|21|0|Dom%20Costa

For more on the Costa Family legacy:

http://www.iop.pitt.edu/documents/report/Report%2048%20Summer%202011.pdf

Update: The Campaign for Mayor 

Hey Pitt Students! I have a really quick post for this week to update you all on the mayoral race. At the end of last week a political bomb was dropped. City Councilman Bill Peduto filed papers to run for mayor, as many thought he would. The real surprise was that county executive Rich Fitzgerald donated more than the legal max to Peduto’s campaign. While the county executive claims this is not an endorsement, every political insider in the city knows this is a huge sign of support, beyond endorsement level, regardless of what Fitzgerald says. Many believe that it may also be a warning shot to other opposition candidates to stay away from the race.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the full story here<http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/allegheny-county-executive-backing-peduto-mayoral-run-655255/>.

Don’t forget to check back next Monday for your mayoral election update!

University Drilling Bill goes to Governor

A bill in Harrisburg awaiting Governor Corbett’s signature would permit Pennsylvania’s state-owned university system to keep the full proceeds if universities decide to lease campus land for drilling.  Although the 14 universities were permitted to lease land for drilling in the past, any revenue would have been collected by the state treasury.

However, under the new law, royalties from mineral extraction—including Marcellus Shale drilling—would be divided between the individual university and the other state-owned institutions.  Should any of the universities decide to lease for drilling, the leasing university would take in 50 percent of the revenue, while 35 percent would be distributed among the other thirteen universities.  The remaining 15 percent would be allocated for tuition assistance for the schools.  With the new law, six of the fourteen that sit within the Marcellus Shale region—Manfield, Lock Haven, Indiana, California, Clarion, and Slippery Rock Universities—could earn significant profits from any drilling leases.

The spokesman for the State System of Higher Education remarked that the universities had not previously leased any land because the universities would not receive any of the revenue.  However, with the bill’s easy passage through the House of Representatives on Tuesday (136-62), several universities are ready to explore leasing options.

The bill also allows for the lease of other state-owned land, such as those in the large state prison grounds.  An unspecified portion of the revenues would be retained by the sponsoring state agency.

Any lands leased for drilling would join the roughly 700,000 acres of state forest currently leased. 

City Seeks Sustainable Funding Formula

Taxes confuse everybody, so it seems a little dizzying to try and examine the conversation between the City of Pittsburgh and local non-profits. As it currently stands, most land owned by non-profits, including everything from local AmeriCorps programs, to UPMC, do not pay any property tax (roughly 50% of Allegheny County land is exempt from property taxes). These non-profits are also exempt from some local payroll preparation taxes.

However, local non-profits have sought to give back financially to the City; non-profits may offer a lump sum to the City and a large amount of money is given to the City voluntarily through the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, a collection of various non-profits in Pittsburgh. The largest contributor to this fund is UPMC.

Generally, the City Council and the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund meet every 2 or 3 years to discuss how much the Fund might be able to provide to the City; although no amount is ever promised, local non-profits are expected to contribute roughly $3.2 million a year for the next five years. Additionally, the University of Pittsburgh payed over $5 million dollars in various fees and taxes last year; of course, this does not include all of the local revenue generated by students who come to study at the University.

The uncertainty of the amount that the City will receive from non-profits every year has prompted some local leaders to call for a task force that would find ways to generate more revenue from non-profits and to make it

more consistent, and "institutionalize" the method of generating revenue. This would be the purpose of the task force, as well as potentially lobbying for the elimination of the payroll preparation tax exemption.

This can be a touchy subject for students; on the one hand, many of us enjoy the services provided to us by the City, which has, like many cities across the US, found itself facing budget problems. On the other hand, with dwindling support from the State, it is difficult to imagine that Pitt paying more money to the City would have no effect on student tuition and fees. Moving forward, students should pay close attention to the discussions between the City and the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/pittsburgh-urged-to-examine-nonprofit-donations-654802/