Court Radio<\/em> is broadcast live at 7 a.m. every Sunday morning on Philadelphia\u2019s WRNB 100.3 FM<\/a>, with a simulcast on Magic 95.9 FM<\/a> in Baltimore. You can also listen live on the Internet at WRNB<\/a> 100.3 or on Magic 95.9<\/a> via streaming audio.<\/p>\n Hughes, who represents sections of Philadelphia and bordering Montgomery County, said that critics of the new law, including the Pa. Senate Democratic Caucus, the NAACP, the ACLU and the AFL-CIO, are already lining up to challenge it in court. A similar law enacted recently in Wisconsin was has been put on hold by a judge while the law is reviewed.<\/p>\n PA State Sen. Vincent Hughes, 7th Senatorial District<\/p><\/div>\n “We will fight this all the way to the end,” Hughes said. “This is the right to vote, which is constitutionally-protected. This is not showing your ID to get on an airplane or to get into a building or to buy beer legally. This is far beyond other things that you have to show ID for in this country. This is a solution searching for a problem.”<\/p>\n Supporters of the law argued that it was needed to cut vote fraud, but that’s outrageous, he said.<\/p>\n “Under the guise of preventing voter fraud, this bill would actually suppress the right to vote<\/a> for many eligible voters in Pennsylvania who do not have a photo ID,\u201d Hughes said in a prepared statement.\u00a0Instead, some 340,000 Pennsylvania seniors do not have a state-issued photo I.D., which will make it harder for them to vote, he said. “In addition, minorities, the disabled and young people will be disproportionately impacted.”<\/p>\n \u201cVulnerable citizens are having their medical assistance taken away, their access to food stamps blocked and now they will have their vote suppressed,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cIt is shameful and unwarranted, especially in light of the need for solutions to much larger issues, like protecting the social safety net, job creation and growing Pennsylvania\u2019s economy. The provisions of this bill almost amount to a poll tax, requiring mostly seniors to spend their valuable dollars to obtain a photo ID.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 2008 election, there were only 4 cases of voter fraud reported in Pennsylvania, out of the 8.73 million registered voters, according to statistics cited by Hughes. Since 2004, Pennsylvania has cast 20 million votes and had 4 convictions for voter fraud. A national study conducted by President George Bush\u2019s Justice Department found only 86 cases of fraud in the United States between 2002 and 2007 out of 300 million votes cast, according to Hughes’ office.<\/p>\n “There’s been no fraud that this is meant to protect,” he said. “All this will do is deny people’s participation in a constitutionally-protected right. You’ve got to shut this stuff down in the very beginning.”<\/p>\n The GOP is pushing this in states across the U.S. to try to cut the vote for President Obama and the Democratic Party in November, Hughes said. “There’s no other reason to do it.”<\/p>\n The rules for the new Voter ID Law are as follows, according to the VotesPA Web site:<\/p>\n All photo IDs must<\/strong> contain an expiration date<\/span> that is current<\/span>, unless noted otherwise.\u00a0 Acceptable IDs include:<\/p>\n *Photo IDs issued by the U.S. Federal Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:<\/p>\n *Pennsylvania driver\u2019s license or non-driver\u2019s license photo ID (IDs are valid for voting purposes 12 months past expiration date)<\/p>\n *Valid U.S. passport<\/p>\n *U.S. military ID – active duty and retired military (a military or veteran\u2019s ID must designate an expiration date or designate that the expiration date is indefinite). Military dependents\u2019 ID must contain an expiration date<\/p>\n *Employee photo ID issued by Federal, PA, County or Municipal government<\/p>\n *Photo ID cards from an accredited Pennsylvania public or private institution of higher learning<\/p>\n *Photo ID cards issued by a Pennsylvania care facility, including long-term care facilities<\/p>\n “NO ONE<\/strong> legally entitled to vote will be denied the right to do so,” according to VotesPA. “If you do not have a photo ID or are indigent and unable to obtain one without payment of a fee, you may cast a provisional ballot, and will have six days to provide your photo ID and\/or an affirmation to your county elections office to have your ballot count.\u00a0 If you have a religious objection to being photographed you can still vote by presenting a valid without-photo driver\u2019s license or a valid without-photo ID card issued by PennDOT.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.myphillylawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/State-Sen-Vincent-Hughes_sm-221x300-head-shot.jpg\" "\\"State")