The bottom line for Pennsylvania voters is this: You will be asked for photo ID when you show up at the polls on Nov. 6, but in most cases, you don't need to have it to cast a ballot.
As a result of a Commonwealth Court judge's ruling Tuesday, you'll be able to vote for president and the other offices on general election ballots the same way you have in past elections - especially in April's primary, when voters were asked for photo ID for the first time, to introduce them to the new state law.
The one exception is for people who have moved to a new neighborhood or registered to vote for the first time, at a polling location they have not used before: Under existing law, they will be required to provide some ID with their name and address, but it doesn't have to be a photo ID. It can be a voter registration card, utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck, among other possibilities.
For the next couple of days, you might see a postcard or advertisement suggesting otherwise. State election officials were in the middle of a $2 million advertising campaign, telling voters they would need photo ID to vote next month, when Commonwealth Court issued its ruling. Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman said the state is pulling down its radio, TV, and web advertisements for necessary changes and hopes to resume its advertising this weekend.
The first changes were visible Tuesday on the Department of State's voter education website, www.votesPA.com.
The site maintained its primary headline, "SHOW IT," with a blown-up photo of a Pennsylvania driver's license. A smaller subhead added: "Voters will be asked, but not required, to show an acceptable photo ID on Election Day."
The photo ID requirement is not dead forever. Commonwealth Court has delayed it just past the November election, which means photo ID may be back in place for the 2013 primary election, in May.
The attorneys fighting the law arranged a conference call Tuesday where they said they would press for a permanent injunction. They said they remain concerned about the difficulties faced by elderly and disabled voters who don't have the necessary ID, and the state's difficulties in providing voter ID to every registered voter who needs it - a mandate in the bill passed by House and Senate Republicans in March.
Zack Stalberg, president of the Committee of Seventy watchdog group, suggested that registered voters who still need photo ID should continue trying to get it, if possible.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is still offering a voter-only photo ID card to any registered voters who show up at licensing centers and say they need the card. And Montgomery County officials said Tuesday they would proceed with plans to issue photo ID cards to county residents through a senior-care facility, beginning Wednesday.
The Voter ID Coalition, a nonpartisan amalgam of 150 civic groups, unions, churches, and other organizations, said it would continue to help arrange transportation to PennDot facilities for voters who need the help. They can make the arrangements, and get other questions answered, by calling 1-866-OURVOTE (1-866-687-8683).
With voter ID postponed - barring an unlikely appeal by the Corbett administration - the Committee of Seventy said it was turning its focus to two critical dates: Oct. 9, the deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote, and Nov. 6, when voters will decide the races for president, Congress, and the state legislature.
"We're worried now it may be a little easier for people to skip the most important step in this process, which is showing up and voting," Stalberg said.
Contact Bob Warner at 215-854-5885 or warnerb@phillynews.com. Jessica Parks and Amy Worden contributed to this article.
