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Some Pa. News:

Election-fraud bill requires ID for first-time voters

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

The Associated Press

HARRISBURG -- First-time voters who register by mail would have to show identification at polling places as part of a fraud-fighting measure passed by the state House today and sent on to the governor.

The provision, part of a bill containing election-code changes, was approved 190-7 in the House and 48-1 in the Senate.

A spokesman for Gov. Mark S. Schweiker said he was reviewing the bill.

The bill would allow voters to show one of several forms of ID, including a driver's license, U.S. passport, current bank statement or a paycheck, to prove their authenticity at the polls.

The bill, which received bipartisan support, would enact the recommendations of county elections officials and the Department of State, the state agency that oversees elections. It also would put into effect requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act that President Bush signed last month.

Among other things, the bill would allow high-school students who are at least 17 years old to fill vacancies in certain election-day jobs under the supervision of a local judge of elections and increase the maximum allowable compensation for those jobs to as much as $200.

"The substance of this legislation will be to upgrade our election system to make it more accessible to the individual voter and more workable from the point of view of the election official," said Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, who spoke in favor of the legislation.

http://www.post-gazette.com/breaking/20021127webbillp8.asp