Pa. judge halts state's tough new voter ID law

HARRISBURG, Pa. — HARRISBURG, Pa. One of the toughest of a new wave of state voting laws was put on hold Tuesday as a judge postponed Pennsylvania's voter identification requirement just weeks before the presidential election.

The 6-month-old law in one of the most prized states in the election has become a high-profile issue in the tight contest between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Independent polls show a persistent lead for Obama in the state, but pollsters have said the requirement for voters to show a valid ID could mean that fewer people, especially minorities, end up voting. In the past, lower turnouts in Pennsylvania have benefited Republicans.

A top state lawmaker boasted at a Republican dinner in June that the ID requirement "is going to allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania." Republicans have justified the law as a protection against election fraud.

The law had drawn protests, warnings of Election Day chaos and voter education drives as the law's opponents began collecting stories of people who had no valid photo ID and faced stiff barriers in their efforts to get one.

The judge's decision Tuesday could be appealed to the state Supreme Court, but it could easily be the final word on the law before the Nov. 6 election. The ruling also allows the law to go into full effect next year.

Democrats have used opposition to the law as a rallying cry to motivate volunteers and campaign contributions. They accused Republicans of trying to steal the White House by making it harder for young adults, the poor, minorities and the disabled to vote.

In a statement, the Obama campaign said the decision means that "eligible voters can vote on Election Day, just like they have in previous elections in the state."

The state's Republican Party chairman, Rob Gleason, said he was disappointed.

Other states face similar debates over voting.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Indiana's voter ID law in 2008, and Georgia's top court upheld that state's voter ID law. But a federal panel struck down Texas' voter ID law, and the state court in Wisconsin has blocked its voter ID laws for now. The Justice Department cleared New Hampshire's voter ID law earlier this year.

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