In the months before the election, the presidential candidates weren’t the only ones campaigning. States across the country, including Pennsylvania, have implemented some form of “Voter ID” law. Pennsylvania’s voter ID law requires voters to show a photo ID to be able to vote, however on October 2, a ruling by the PA Commonwealth Court prevented the implementation of the law for the 2012 election. For this year’s election, photo identification is not required to vote in PA, but this is not the case in every state. Several state courts have upheld Voter ID laws.

Proponents of Voter ID laws, primarily Republican legislators, argue that the laws combat voter fraud “namely from undocumented immigrants and people with felony convictions” as Brentin Mock, New Orleans journalist, stated in a PBS interview. Contrarily, others, like legal counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, Lee Rowland, argue that the laws make “it harder for millions of eligible Americans to have their say on Election Day”; opponents believe that the voter ID laws primarily affect elderly, minority and low-income groups more likely to vote Democratic. A recent study created by the Black Youth projects that around 1 million minority voters under the age of 30 will be disenfranchised by the new voter ID laws in this years election. Whether its original intent was to reduce voter fraud or reduce the amount of active Democratic voters, the new voter ID laws will likely have an influence on the outcome of the election.