Report: Many Pa. Voters Don't Have Proper Photo ID
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Pennsylvania Department of State reported earlier this year that 99-percent of registered voters have a PennDOT-issued photo ID, but figures released on Tuesday tell a different story.
The new numbers show that 758,000 Pennsylvania voters, or roughly 9-percent, do not have a PennDOT ID.
In May, Pennsylvania Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman told KYW Newsradio that only 90,000 Pennsylvania voters were without the ID. He said his agency did the analysis last fall before the voter ID law was passed.
"As part of our work on this legislation, we did that analysis," he said.
At the time, Ruman says they compared the number of U.S. citizens in Pennsylvania over 18 to the number of folks with a PennDOT drivers license or Photo ID card.
"We knew then that the number could not possibly be right. And now we see in fact that number is completely wrong," Philadelphia City Commissioner Stephanie Singer said.
According to the Department of State figures, roughly one in five Philadelphia voters, or 18-percent, don't have a PennDOT ID.
