The details aren’t final yet. But Pennsylvania election officials will soon unveil a photo-identification card intended to make it easier for voters to comply with the state’s new voter-ID law.
The card is to be formally announced in the next few weeks and will be issued by the Department of State, which oversees elections.
The sole purpose of the new ID, which will be made available at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation centers across the state: to help voters who have thus far been unable to get the types of identification the new law requires in order to vote in the fall election.
Critics of the law have complained that some residents without driver’s licenses have had difficulties collecting the various documents needed to obtain the nondriver ID cards that PennDot is issuing for free.
“If you can’t meet the PennDot requirements for a non-driving ID because you are having trouble getting the necessary documentation together, there will be a way for you to obtain the Department of State ID for voting purposes only,” Department of State spokesman Nick Winkler said Thursday.