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Feds seeking data on voter ID law
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The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the new Pennsylvania voter ID law for compliance with the Voting Rights Act, according to a letter from the department's Civil Rights Division to the secretary of the commonwealth.
The law requires most voters to show an approved form of photo identification at the polls this November. A hearing in a challenge to the law is scheduled to begin Wednesday in Commonwealth Court.
In a letter dated Monday, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez asked Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele to provide documents including the state's voter registration list and its list of driver's licenses and personal identification cards, with each roster including full names, addresses, dates of birth, identifying numbers and race.
The letter also requests documents supporting a statement in a March press release from the office of Gov. Tom Corbett that 99 percent of the state's eligible voters have acceptable IDs, as well as documents supporting a Department of State estimate earlier this month that approximately 758,000 registered voters lack state-issued photo identification acceptable for voting.
Spokesman Ron Ruman said the Department of State is reviewing the letter and will provide the requested information within 30 days.
First Published July 24, 2012 12:00 am
