Earlier today, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson halted the Pennsylvania voter ID law from kicking into effect for the November election. This is a major win for voting rights advocates that have argued the voter ID law would disenfranchise voters that typically vote Democratic, including minorities and the elderly. Some reports estimated that if the PA law was not struck down, up to 750,000 voters could be disenfranchised.

Poll workers can still ask a voter to show an ID, but if a voter does not have an ID, she or he can’t be turned away from the polls. According to an article in The Washington Post, the judge’s decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court, but it’s not likely that it will change. The Supreme Court already looked at the case and bounced it back to the lower court to make a final decision.

The PA voter ID law drew a lot of attention after state Rep. Mike Turzai said the ID law would help Romney win PA.

The judge’s ruling today proves that sometimes our system of checks and balances does work. It is clear from the video above that the voter ID law was nothing more than a partisan attempt to help Republicans in the fall election. I hope that the law is completely after Nov. 6.