SCOTT TOWNSHIP -- A special honor for a polling place in Wayne County: The official in charge of elections state-wide came to recognize 120 years of voting there.
Her visit comes at a time when voting in Pennsylvania is getting national attention. All because the state's new voter ID law is now being challenged in court.
It was a lesson in Democracy at the Scott Center Community Center in Northern Wayne County.
The secretary of the commonwealth, the top elections’ official in Pennsylvania, declared the place a keystone of democracy.
The old school house near Starrucca has been a polling place for more than 120 consecutive years.
Vergil Faigle has been voting there every election for nearly half that, 58 years.
“It was just our duty to vote, that's just what it is. I tell them don't complain. You didn't vote, don't complain,” said Faigle.
“They have come here and voted for more than 120 years, and their votes count, and it's important for communities all over Pennsylvania to come out and have that kind of commitment,” said Carol Aichele, Secretary of the commonwealth.
When voters show up at the old precinct or any other precinct in the state this fall, they're going to need to show a voter ID. That's Pennsylvania's new law this year. It's being challenged this week in court, but the secretary of the commonwealth said she thinks it will be upheld.
There were protests at the state capitol in Harrisburg on Tuesday. Demonstrators and critics of the law said it discriminates against the poor, elderly and minorities who don't have drivers’ licenses or IDs.
Wednesday, the ACLU took the state to court.
Signs all around say IDs are needed this year.
However, the secretary of the commonwealth and a state representative who voted for the law said anyone without an ID can now get one, without even showing a birth certificate at drivers’ license centers.
“We think we can reach every eligible voter in Pennsylvania who may not have had other forms of ID with this one,” said Aichele.
If you are registered to vote and feel you don't have the proper ID and don't know how to get it, you can call 877-PA-VOTES.
Again, you can now get a voter ID at drivers’ license centers with only your name, social security number, address and a bill or something that proves that you live there.