A wide majority of Pennsylvania voters support state efforts to require photo identification to vote, the latest Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll finds.
The new law is backed by 62 percent of likely voters, including about 9 in 10 Republicans and two-thirds of independents. Most Democrats are opposed. There are 10 other states with voter ID requirements.
The law made its way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which ruled last week that the lower court that had upheld it must determine first whether the state was doing enough to prevent voter disenfranchisement.
The question provided respondents with both sides of the debate, saying that some people say such a law is “need ed to prevent people from voting who are not eligible to vote,†while others argue that “such efforts are designed to suppress voting by minorities.â€
The law is backed by most men and women, as well as majorities across all age and income groups. But while two-thirds of white voters support the law, fewer, about 4 in 10, nonwhite voters agree.
The statewide poll was conducted by telephone (land line and cellphones) Sept. 18 to 24 with 1,180 likely voters in Pennsylvania and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Full results of the poll.
