HispanicBusiness

A Pennsylvania judge refused Wednesday to throw out the state's new voter ID law, ruling challengers did not prove it would keep people from casting ballots.

Judge Robert Simpson, in a 70-page opinion, said that stopping Pennsylvania from enforcing the law would be more burdensome than allowing it to stand because preparations for the November election are already under way, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Republican lawmakers who passed the law and Gov. Tom Corbett, also a Republican, argued the law was needed to stop voter fraud. Challengers said the law puts a great burden on some voters, especially the poor, minorities and the elderly, while there is no proof voter fraud is a major problem.

The case is headed, inevitably, to the state Supreme Court, currently split with three Democratic and three Republican justices, the newspaper said. A 3-3 ruling would allow the law to stand.

Simpson said that the plaintiffs did a good job showing how the law would inconvenience individuals but did not prove that "disenfranchisement was immediate or inevitable."

The lead plaintiff, Viviette Applewhite, 93, is a black Philadelphia resident. She testified during the trial about her difficulties obtaining valid identification documents.

"I just can't believe it," Applewhite told the Inquirer after learning of the ruling. "Too many people have fought for the right to vote to have it taken away like this. All I want is to be able to vote this November like I always have. This law is just ridiculous."