Allegheny County Offering Free Voter ID

Allegheny County is offering two new ways for voters without proper Photo ID to get identification cards.

The Community College of Allegheny County and the county’s four Kane Hospital centers will be the hubs to issue specialized photo identification to any residents if they need one to vote.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Thursday morning announced the effort to get as many residents proper identification.

“I firmly believe that anyone who wants to participate in our democracy through elections should have every opportunity to do so. That is what we are doing today,” Fitzgerald said in a press release. “Through our Kane Regional Centers and CCAC, we are going to provide the ability for people to get the photo identification that they need to cast their ballot this November.”

State law now requires all voters to provide photo identification when they vote in every election. The ID must show a name that “substantially conforms” to the name on the voter rolls, include an expiration date and not be expired. They include passports, driver’s license, active military ID, state-issued ID cards and college ID cards.

“It is our hope that these measures will help to preserve access to this cornerstone of democracy,” CCAC President Alex Johnson said of the new procedures.

Kane Regional Centers and CCAC are still finalizing details of when and where these IDs will be offered. However, both said that an individual seeking an ID will need to be registered to vote and must also show another form of identification.

“The Voter ID law puts additional hoops in place to make it difficult to vote,” Fitzgerald said. “The restrictions are overly burdensome, particularly for seniors and people that don’t have the means to get the necessary documentation.”

This week, the state Supreme Court sent the Voter ID law back to Commonwealth Court for further review over concerns there were not enough alternative forms of photo identification. A decision on that is expected to be made in early October.