Tuesday, June 19, 2012

PA's New Voter ID Bill: What is it and What do I need to do?

In March 2012, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a voter identification bill that may possibly affect your ability to vote. However, with proper information and preparation, you can avoid the pitfalls that may prevent you from having your vote count this November.

At a later date, we will take a look at the consequences of the bill and come to a conclusion as to whether the legislation was a good idea. Today, however, we will provide information that can assist you in making sure your voice is heard on Election Day 2012.

The main provision of the voter identification bill is the requirement for photo identification. Like 15 other states before Pennsylvania, the General Assembly's major rationale for the photo identification requirement was their belief in a rise in voter fraud. Next time we will take a look at whether that rationale was justified and whether the law can withstand legal challenges.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, all voters must bring photo identification that includes an expiration date that is current. In other words, your non-renewed six-year-old driver's license is not going to be acceptable. Unfortunately for older voters, the simple showing of a utility bill with your name and address will not be proper identification. This is even if a voter has voted at the same location for multiple electoral cycles. Acceptable identification includes:


  • Photo IDs issued by the U.S. Federal Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: 
    • Pennsylvania driver’s license or non-driver’s license photo ID (IDs are valid for voting purposes 12 months past expiration date)
    • Valid U.S. passport
    • U.S. military ID - active duty and retired military (a military or veteran’s ID must designate an expiration date or designate that the expiration date is indefinite). Military dependents’ ID must contain an expiration date
  • Employee photo ID issued by Federal, PA, County or Municipal government
  • Photo ID cards from an accredited Pennsylvania public or private institution of higher learning
  • Photo ID cards issued by a Pennsylvania care facility, including long-term care facilities, assisted living residences or personal care homes

College students should also be aware that their student IDs are NOT acceptable unless they have an expiration date on the face of the card. Recent articles in different newspapers across the Commonwealth have reported that PA colleges and universities are starting to add expiration dates to their student IDs. If you are unsure whether your institution of higher learning is adding these dates, make sure you rely on another form of acceptable photo identification. 

If you are unable to procure photo identification by Election Day, you can still vote, but you have to vote provisionally. This results in your ballot being counted separately from all other ballots. A provisional ballot will be counted so long as the voter returns a copy of an accepted ID and an affirmation letter to your County Board of Elections within six calendar days. This process can be done through fax, e-mail, or snail mail. 

After the six day time frame is up, any voter with a provisional ballot may call the PA Department of State at 1-877-VOTES-PA to find out if their ballot was counted. 

If you have any further questions regarding the PA voter identification bill, please contact me at michaeltmuha@gmail.com and I will be happy to answer any preliminary questions free of charge. 

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informative and advertisement purposes only. This post contains no legal advice. If you need to speak to an attorney about any legal matter you may have please e-mail The Law Office of Michael T. Muha at michaeltmuha@gmail.com. 

A Little Bit About Myself...

Hello and welcome to the blog of The Law Office of Michael T. Muha. The main purpose of this blog is to inform people about their rights regarding three major areas of law: voting rights law, campaign finance law, and education discrimination law.

Before the posts start coming, I want to introduce myself, talk about why I became a lawyer, and why I am passionate about the types of law I will be discussing on this blog.

Since I was a child, my hero has always been Abraham Lincoln. The thing that drew me to the man was not necessarily what he did, despite it being the work that saved the Union, but for who he was. Mr. Lincoln came from nothing in a Kentucky log cabin, learned how to read on his own, and worked hard to become a Postmaster, a lawyer, a United States Congressman, and eventually President of the United States. Throughout my younger years, I took his life as the prime example of how I wanted to live my own.

When I approached my high school years, I worked hard at being a good student. I focused on my classes and extracurricular activities, particularly Academic Games. My freshman year I placed in the national top ten in a game based on the United States Presidents. My sophomore year I won the National Championship in a world history game called World Events in Kissimmee, Florida. After that, my life changed. My friends at the time started using drugs and wanted me to participate with them. I declined. As a result, I was treated differently. First started the joking around. It quickly escalated to death threats and rumors about who I was, what I did, and whether or not I would be around the next day at school. I questioned everything and everyone around me. I became cynical about life. I kept quiet. My grades suffered, my life was in chaos. My junior year was the worst year of my life and it lead me down a path where the end put me and a butcher knife in a dark room, contemplating suicide.

I didn't do it because I knew I'd hurt the people who loved me. Instead, I went back to Mr. Lincoln. Reading more about the man, I realized that he was once in the same position as me. After losing the love of his life at a young age, Abraham threatened suicide. His woes continued with the tragic deaths of his young children and the young men he sent off to war against the South. In the end, despite his depression, he picked himself up and accomplished great things. I knew I had to do the same.

After high school, I attended Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Minor in Philosophy. After Slippery Rock, I moved to Washington, DC and attended The American University, where I graduated with a Master of Arts in Political Science - American Politics. During my time there, I worked on Capitol Hill as an intern for my then-Member of Congress Philip S. English and I was a civics instructor teaching middle and high-school children about American history and government. After my time at Washington, I moved back home and attended the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. I graduated in December 2011 and I passed the bar in April 2012. 


In May 2011, I went back to my alma mater of Hickory High School in Hermitage, Pennsylvania and spoke to the students there about school bullying, drug abuse, and suicide prevention. While I was always dedicated to helping students with their problems since my depression, I learned how much my words could help young people. Now, I work tirelessly as an advocate for young people. In recent times, we've seen more and more young people committing suicide because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. As a result, more laws are being enacted to stop school bullying and provide proper guidance to students who need help. It is my hope that this blog will provide proper insight in some of these laws.


Before law, my main love was electoral politics. After obtaining my Masters degree, I spent a lot of time in law school, focusing on election law issues. These issues range from gerrymandering to campaign finance laws pre- and post-Citizens United. In recent years, we've also seen state legislatures and governors support voter ID and other voting rights laws. This blog will also address some of the legal ramifications of those laws and what you, as a potential voter, should know when approaching the ballot box. 


In conclusion, my personal experiences and beliefs have shaped me to be not only a better person, but I hope, a better lawyer. I came back to Western Pennsylvania not only because it has been my home for over two decades, but also because I love this place. It's not like any other location in America. The people are strong willed and hardworking. I came back because I want to make a difference in people's lives here. 


I hope you enjoyed my story and I hope you continue to check out my blog. 






If you wish to speak to me about any legal issue you may being dealing with, please contact me at michaeltmuha@gmail.com. 


A Little Bit About this Blog and Our New Office...

Thank you for visiting the blog of The Law Office of Michael T. Muha. This blog was created by Attorney Michael T. Muha in hopes to inform people of the legal issues and consequences in regards to three burgeoning areas of law: voting rights and campaign finance law as well as education discrimination law.

Posts of this blog will be uploaded periodically and they are to be used for informative purposes only. All posts on this blog are not legal advice and should not be considered as such. If you are looking for a lawyer on any of these topics or any other legal matter, please contact me at michaeltmuha@gmail.com.

The Law Office of Michael T. Muha is currently building a website, so our main portal on the Internet will temporarily be this blog.

The Law Office of Michael T. Muha accepts clients from the following counties of Pennsylvania: Mercer, Lawrence, Crawford, Erie, Butler, Beaver, Venango, and Allegheny Counties. The Office also handles cases and legal matters relating to criminal defense, family and domestic relations law, tax law, employment discrimination, and estate planning. 

Michael T. Muha is an attorney authorized to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Michael is located in the great City of Hermitage, which is the largest municipality in Mercer County. Hermitage is in the southwestern part of the county, housed in the Shenango Valley. We are roughly one hour away from both Erie and Pittsburgh and we are roughly 15 minutes away from Youngstown, Ohio.