Pennsylvania AFL-CIO: Governor Corbett Signs Legislation Before Ink Dries To Avoid Public Scrutiny

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Just hours after the Pennsylvania State House passed House Bill 934, the Voter Suppression bill, Governor Tom Corbett signed the controversial legislation into law.

"Governor Corbett's action last night, in signing this legislation, reflects the unpopular and undemocratic ideas that suppress the right to vote," PA AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale said. "His signature on this bill places unreasonable and unnecessary barriers on the right to vote for our most vulnerable citizens of Pennsylvania. He should be ashamed, not only by his association with this bill, but by hiding it away before the good citizens of our Commonwealth knew what hit them."

The bill, which requires specific forms of photo ID in order to vote, could disenfranchise nearly 700,000 Pennsylvanians, specifically senior citizens, the disabled, and lower-income workers who may not have a valid PA Driver's License.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania opposes Voter ID bills because they have found no evidence that there is fraudulent voting in the state that showing a photo ID would solve.

"This legislation, and now law, is not about voter fraud, it's about passing the flawed policies that are unpopular with the majority of Pennsylvanians." Bloomingdale emphasized.

"It is unthinkable that Governor Corbett has chosen not to act as quickly as he did last night to save the jobs of thousands of Pennsylvania workers in communities across the Commonwealth, particularly the workers in the southeast refineries, a zinc plant in western Pennsylvania, along with thousands of other workers who find themselves without jobs today through no fault of their own," Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder said. "Sadly, many of those thousands of unemployed workers in the past year are direct casualties of this administration's failed policies," Snyder added.

It's estimated that the Voter ID law will cost Pennsylvania $11 Million in taxpayer money. This doesn't sit well with many concerned citizens, who are watching social programs and education budgets slashed in the wake of PA's financial crisis.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO supports creating jobs, saving jobs, and strengthening our economy, not denying citizens their rights.

SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO