Sifting Through Voter ID Ruling Fallout

Time to take a deep breath. The Commonwealth Court upheld Pennsylvania's Voter ID law, but with a decision written with the knowledge that this wouldn't be the final word and the clear expectation that the ruling would be appealed.

Still, it was a main point of discussion nationwide.

An Associated Press piece posted overnight notes that a move the state Supreme Court is next. That holds its own complications, since the court is currently split politically, as one justice has been suspended. So the stage is set for a boondoggle.

No surprise, Huffington Post blogger and liberal talking head Rev. Al Sharpton slammed the ruling, saying it "can only be described as a shocking and appalling."

On the other hand, check out this op-ed piece originally posted by the Los Angeles Times and co-written by a professor of history emeritus at Harvard and the author of "Voting Rights — and Wrongs: The Elusive Quest for Racially Fair Elections." The piece is in well-reasoned support of Voter ID laws, though they do point out that states must make it easy for citizens to obtain the ID. Not sure if Pennsylvania is capable of meeting that criteria.

The rhetoric will only get more heated as this heads to the state's supreme court.