>>Because many of them don't have such an ID (turns out about 10% of PA voters have neither a drivers license nor the state-provided non-drivers photo ID). Getting such an ID can be expensive (both in actual costs and in work hours lost), difficult and time-consuming.
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>That's not true, it takes about 15-30 minutes if you go early in the morning. there are even programs available to help the indigent pay for it. There is no excuse for not having an ID.... My grandmother died at 95 and had a driver's license.

In order to get the ID, you need original documents like a birth certificate. For some of the elderly, that's impossible. If you have to order from another state, no telling how long that'll take or how much it'll cost.

As for how long it takes, that varies a lot by the location. I actually live about equi-distant from two of them and I've found that one is a far better choice than the other. You and I live in one of the state's big population centers, so we have several choices for where to go. Not true throughout the state, and of course, someone who doesn't drive has to get someone to take them to the center, or take public transit (not an option outside the big cities, of course).

Also, you can't do it on Sunday, or at night. (Specifically, I saw only one center ever open past 6 PM.) Many of the centers are open only a few days a week.

So, if you are a poor working person who doesn't already have a photo ID, in order to get an ID to allow you to exercise your constitutional right to vote, you have to:

- spend $10 (or more, it it's a different state) to get a birth certificate, and wait as long as that takes.
- find someone to take you to the drivers' license center or pay for public transit to get there.
- depending on your work, possibly take time off of work to go to the center.

Sounds like a poll tax to me.

Tamar