Voter ID is a flashpoint in Pennsylvania election law discussions

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(Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

HARRISBURG - Republicans wanting stricter voter identification provisions in Pennsylvania is emerging as an early flashpoint with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in what GOP lawmakers cast as a top-to-bottom update of state election law following a presidential contest that Donald Trump still baselessly maintains was stolen from him.

Wolf’s chief of staff, Mike Brunelle, said the House Republican in charge of writing election legislation called him to discuss the matter, but it was a short conversation.

Wolf is ready to discuss legislation to update the state’s election law, but opposes changes to the voter ID law, Brunelle told The Associated Press.

"When voter ID was put on the table, it made it clear that it was not a serious discussion," Brunelle said.

Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, said he had called Brunelle to get discussions started and Brunelle asked him whether Grove wanted voter ID to be part of talks. Grove told him that it needs to be because House Republicans are concerned about it, Grove said.

"Well, I don’t want to waste your time, we’re not interested in it," Brunelle told Grove.

Pennsylvania’s courts in 2014 struck down a GOP-penned law requiring a state-issued photo ID for voters, saying it imposed an unreasonable burden on the right to vote and that its backers failed to demonstrate the need for it.