A Pennsylvania judge last week struck down one of the nation’s strictest voter ID laws, ruling that the state’s requirement that its 8.2 million voters show photo ID at the polls could unlawfully “disenfranchise valid voters.” The law was approved by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2012 over the protests of every Democratic member. Republicans argued it would help to prevent voter fraud, but Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard L. McGinley said the law imposed an “unreasonable burden” on voters, many of whom lack IDs that comply with the measure. The ruling came amid a nationwide battle over voting laws, and could set the stage for a Supreme Court decision on the issue.
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