Pa. House Majority Leader Says State Voter ID Law Will Allow Romney to Win State

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) told the Republican State Committee that Pennsylvania's Voter ID law will allow Romney to win PA.

By Jorge Rivas Jun 25, 2012

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) told the Republican State Committee on Saturday what voting rights advocates have been saying for months: voter ID laws will help will help presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney win the state. Turzai kicked it up a notch and said Pennsylvania’s voter ID law will (not help, but) "allow" Romeny to win the state. "Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done." Turzai’s statement drew a round of applause, [PoliticsPA.com reports. ](http://www.politicspa.com/turzai-voter-id-law-means-romney-can-win-pa/37153/) "We know that marginalized people are less likely to have identification cards," said Aura Bogado, Colorlines.com’s Voting Rights Watch 2012 blogger. "While Republicans have long held that this is a non-partisan issue, Turzai’s comment illustrates that Voter ID laws don’t prevent fraud; instead, they prevent voters from participating in what should be a democratic process." [A study published in October 2011](https://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/five_million_americans_could_be_affected_by_new_restrictive_voting_rules.html) by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU found that voter ID laws fall most heavily on young, low-income, and voters of color, as well as on voters with disabilities–voters who traditionally are registered Democratic. According to same [Brennan Center for Justice](https://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/voter_id_card.html) report, as many as five million eligible voters across the country could meet difficulties voting this Election Day due to voter ID laws. "This is making clear to everyone what Voter ID was all about. This is about one thing: disenfranchising Democratic voters and rigging elections for Republicans," Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montco) told PoliticsPA.com. "When they get behind closed doors, they admit it. And that’s exactly what Turzai did."