We can all breathe a bit easier today.
The mighty hand of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett has put an end to voter fraud in the Keystone State.
Except that there was virtually no voter fraud to begin with, according to the people who know about those things: the boards of elections in the various counties. In fact, according to county officials, there haven't been instances of the sort of fraud that would justify the Voter ID law Corbett signed into law on Wednesday.
Heck, even the governor, who is usually provided some talking points to justify what he does, couldn't offer examples that drove this expensive gambit, which members of his opposing party say is a thinly veiled attempt to limit voting among those groups less than friendly to the GOP.
"We're about to turn back the pages of history to that era by imposing what is a poll tax, among other obstacles, for the most vulnerable people in our community that have the right today to vote. And tomorrow, who knows?" said Rep. Daniel Frankel, D-Allegheny County.
However, according to Gov. Corbett, the new law is simply a "preventative measure," just in case - after countless elections have been run cleanly under the watchful eyes of local election boards - there is a sudden surge in election fraud.
You'll be asked to show photo identification when you vote in the April 24 Primary. There won't be a penalty if you don't have it...this time. Do it in the fall, and you'll be allowed to vote, but your vote won't be counted until you can come up with an appropriate ID.
In the meantime, the governor has pledged to work state agencies extra hours to transport people, particularly the elderly, to get identification cards from PennDOT's service centers. There will also be a bit of overtime for the Attorney General's office, defending the law from legal challenges.
It is also ironic that this law was born in the same legislature that contributed to the most blatant act of gerrymandering in recent Pennsylvania history.