An election official in Pennsylvania has said that he will not enforce the state's voter I.D. law.
Christopher Broach, a Democrat from Colwyn, Penn. told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he would continue to honor the state's old voting rules.
"I am taking the stand against the new Republican voter law and hoping that anyone nationally whom has been elected to an office with the title of judge will do just that," Broach said.
Supporters of the law, whose fate will be decided in a closely watched state court case, say that is necessary to prevent voter fraud. But the state's attorneys recently stipulated that there was no evidence of in-person voter fraud in the area, and the state had never prosecuted anyone for in-person voter fraud.
Critics of the law, passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature, say that it will disenfranchise groups that are more likely not to have official state identification, like college students, African Americans and Latinos — groups that are inclined to vote for Democrats. More than half of Colwyn's population is African American.
An expert who testified Thursday in the case said that up to one million people could be prevented from voting in the state. The Philadelphia City Paper said that nearly 43 percent of voters in the city may not have valid voter I.D. under the new law.
Last month, Mike Turzai, the state's Republican majority leader, said the voter ID law would help Mitt Romney win the state.