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Seniors, prepare now for the polls
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A staggering 758,000 Pennsylvanians lack the proper ID they will need to vote this fall, according to statistics released by the state earlier this month.
This includes a cohort of citizens who traditionally are quite engaged: the elderly. Pennsylvania is about to reward our turn-out-to-vote senior citizens by turning them away this fall because they no longer drive and therefore don't have photo IDs.
I certainly had thought the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated the last barriers to voting, but that clearly is no longer true. Why? Elderly voters cannot easily acquire an official ID because they may not have documents that prove their voting birthright, and because, with no licenses, they cannot simply pop over to the license center and get in line.
Perhaps this despicable voter photo ID law will be halted in court this month. In case not, I hope every senior citizen checks now to see whether he or she has the documents needed to vote in November, and that every child or friend of an elderly person will help that citizen surmount the new and significant barriers.
ELAINE KRAMER
Mt. Lebanon
First Published July 19, 2012 12:00 am
