In this week’s broadcast, representatives from the Brennan Center for Justice rebut claims that getting voter ID is easy and “free” for anyone who needs it.
Now, meet two Philadelphia women at serious risk of losing their rights to vote due to Pennsylvania’s strict new voter ID laws: Laila Stones, a retired nurse working towards a culinary degree; and Ana Gonzalez, a community organizer, mother of four and grandmother of twelve. These women, and many like them, are stuck in a real-life Catch 22: You need a birth certificate to get a government-issued photo ID, but you need a photo ID to get a birth certificate. Local activists also explain the difficulty in getting such IDs.
Both Stones and Gonzalez were witnesses in the ACLU’s case against the new voter ID laws. An injunction blocking the rules may be their best hope for expressing their fundamental rights as citizens this November.
Lauren Feeney, producer/editor; Cameron Hickey, camera
The Fight to Vote
Learn about your own state requirements, make sure you yourself are prepared to vote, and help spread the word through the Election Protection website or via the hotline at: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).
If you live in the Philadelphia area, get all the information you need to ensure your voting rights from the Committee of Seventy's website. You can also volunteer to help others prepare to vote in November.
To learn more about the case brought by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Advancement Project, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, and Arnold & Porter, visit the ACLU's blog.
