Adry run for Pennsylvania's new voter identification law went off with barely a hitch, according to state and county officials.

That doesn't change the fact the law addresses a non-existent problem and has the potential to disenfranchise elderly, poor and minority voters.

And just because there were no major problems Tuesday doesn't mean that will be the case in November.

Voter turnout for primary elections is much lower than for General Elections, and non-affiliated voters weren't even allowed to participate.

Yes, those who did show up at the polls were asked for acceptable photo identification, but if they didn't have it they still were allowed to vote. They were simply given a reminder that the law takes effect for the Nov. 6 election.

That will be the real test of this awful law.

Many more people will head to the polls for the General Election, and some who don't have proper identification will be told they can't vote. That's when the commotion and delays will be seen.

These potential voters will be allowed to cast provisional ballots, which will be counted only if they provide a valid identification to county election officials within six days. Some, more than likely, won't bother.

Just as likely, some people won't bother to jump over the other hurdles the GOP-controlled Legislature has erected. They'll stay home.

And that would seem to be the sole purpose of this law, among the strictest voter identification requirements in the country -- making it more difficult for people who traditionally support Democrats to vote.

The law requires voters to produce "proper" identification -- a government-issued, unexpired photo identification card, such as a driver's license (which can be expired, but not more than a year) or Department of Transportation-issued non-driver's identification card.

Other acceptable forms include a passport; military identification; an employee photo identification issued by county, state, federal, or municipal government; and photo cards issued by state colleges and care facilities that bear expiration dates and are not expired.

Currently, first-time voters already have to show a photo identification or utility bills to prove they reside in their voting precincts, and then registration cards are used for subsequent voting procedures.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania warned lawmakers that adding the additional step of requiring poll workers to check photo identification will lengthen Election Day lines and create voter confusion.

The association is just one of the law's many critics.

Most Democrats, civil liberties advocates, good-government advocates, labor unions, AARP and the NAACP also oppose the requirement. The American Civil Liberties Union already is preparing a legal challenge.

The bill also will prove costly to the state at a time we can least afford it.

To avoid being seen as an unconstitutional poll tax, the law requires the Department of Transportation to issue a free identification card to anyone who applies and swears that he or she has no other proof of identification allowed under the law for voting purposes. The cost could be in the millions of dollars.

And this summer the state will spend more than $3 million on an informational campaign to get the word out about the new law ahead of the general election.

That's a lot of money and aggravation for a completely unnecessary law.

The Republicans responsible for it say it's necessary to protect the "integrity" of our system and prevent fraud -- although no one is able to cite any examples of fraud.

State Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Franklin County, in an opinion piece in The York Dispatch, countered with this:

"This argument ignores the fact that voter fraud is easy to perpetrate, but exceptionally difficult to prove and prosecute," he wrote. "Without strong laws to verify an individual's identity, there are few ways to positively identify fraudulent voters. Because the crime is so difficult to prove, our focus must shift from prosecution to prevention."

Such a senseless argument could be used to justify almost anything:

It's easy for extraterrestrials to vote (given their shape-shifting ways), but exceptionally difficult to prove and prosecute. Without strong laws to verify an individual's identity (and home planet), there are few ways to positively identify these aliens.

Give us a break.