HARRISBURG, August 24, 2012 – State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) issued a statement in response to another misrepresented voter fraud claim made public by the media today.
Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer article told the story of a legislator whose remarks on the House floor included an anecdote about his brush with voter impersonation. Rep. Bernie O’Neill (R-Bucks) recounted to his colleagues during the debate that he was denied the right to vote at his polling place after someone had voted under his name. That story, the Inquirer revealed, ultimately turned out to contain inaccuracies.
Leach said:
“I commend Rep. O’Neill for the integrity he has shown by correcting the falsehoods in his initial remarks, and I believe this incident is more evidence that the Voter ID bill was passed by the legislature under false pretenses. Some supporters of the legislation have claimed that they experienced voter fraud firsthand, but the fact remains that those claims cannot be proven or backed up in court. In Rep. O’Neill’s case, it was simply human error and not a case of voter fraud that rendered him unable to vote.
Voter fraud is not a bogeyman hiding in the closet – this is literally a crime that does not occur. To dress this damaging legislation up as a preventative measure is misguided and sets a dangerous precedent. The only thing this bill would prevent is the ability of certain people to vote.”
Leach recently introduced S.B. 1586, which would repeal the Voter ID law and double the current penalties for committing voter impersonation.
Leach’s bill, S.B. 1586, was introduced last week.
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