Montco Will Offer Voter IDs To All County Residents Through Its Nursing Home
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Montgomery County, Pa. is making it easier for eligible voters in the county to get a photo ID in time to cast their ballot in the November election.
The county commissioners have approved a resolution authorizing the county's senior care facility in Royersford to issue county photo ID cards.
"We believe we have the authority under the state voter ID law to issue IDs through our senior care facility, known as Parkhouse, to any registered voter in Montgomery County," says county commissioner Josh Shapiro, "and that's exactly what we intend to do."
The county is taking advantage of a loophole in the law that allows care facilities to issue IDs to people who are not staff or residents.
The Corbett administration is not happy with the county's plan, but at this point has no plans to stop it.
Commissioner Shapiro says he is disappointed with the Corbett administration's position.
"The only reason they would have a concern is if they don't want IDs to be issued," he said today, "that is, if they want to in fact suppress the votes of certain individuals in the commonwealth."
Like most Democrats, who say the law was designed to suppress the votes of those most likely to vote Democratic, Shapiro opposes the voter ID law but says he took an oath to uphold all of the laws of the commonwealth (see related stories).
The county plans to release details next week to let people know what documentation they need and where the IDs can be obtained. They hope to start implementing the plan October 1st.
