Suzanne Williamson is breathing a little easier.

On Saturday, Williamson and her sister, Mattie Lee Williams, were escorted by volunteers to get the proper photo ID that will allow Mattie to vote this November.

Williamson says her sister, who has autism, has voted in every election for as long as she can remember.

But this year, after Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a new law requiring voters to show a photo ID before casting their ballots, was the first time she had to fight to make it to the ballot box.

Last week, the state's Supreme Court heard the case challenging the law, which is on appeal following a lower court's August 15 decision to uphold it.

Williamson, Williams' 61-year-old sister, spent the last several weeks trying to get her younger sister a voter ID card.

"This really bothered me because she's been voting, and why am I going through all of this," she said, throwing up her hands in frustration.

Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, said the law "sets a simple and clear standard to protect the integrity of our elections."

Supporters of the law argue it will help curb voter fraud.

But a comment in June by a top GOP legislator is raising concerns over the law's intent.

"Voter ID ... is going to allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania," Mike Turzai, majority leader of the Pennsylvania State House, told a group of fellow Republicans.

Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state for the presidential election this fall, will be investigated by the Justice Department to determine if the state's requirement violates civil rights law. It is the first state to be investigated outside of the states covered by Section 5 of the Civil Rights Act, which was designed to protect minorities in areas with historic racial discrimination in voting.

Critics of the new law say this requirement will disenfranchise voters during a heated election season.

"Given that the vast majority of people who are impacted by this law are poor, are uneducated, or of color, or live in cities, i.e. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, are likely to vote Democratic, this law could have an impact on the presidential election," said Vic Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

In May, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Advancement Project, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the law firm of Arnold & Porter filed a lawsuit to overturn the voter ID law passed in March.

Williamson made several trips to various Pennsylvania Department of Transportation locations across the city on behalf of her sister, who did not have acceptable photo identification to vote under the new law.

The sisters have lived together almost seven years since Williamson became Williams' primary caregiver after their mother passed away. She lays out her sister's clothes, helps her get dressed, does her hair, sees that she gets on the bus that takes her to an adult services workshop three days a week, and is there when she comes home.

Williamson, a registered voter, also registered her sister to vote in her district. The sisters have voted together ever since they have lived together.

The new law requires every voter to present a state-issued photo ID, which Williams found difficult to obtain.

"She can't read or write, she can't be a mother, she doesn't have many friends. This is the thing she depends on," Williamson said of her sister's passion for voting.

She turned to the Pennsylvania Voter ID Coalition after several failed attempts to get to obtain the proper ID. The nonpartisan campaign is made up of nearly 150 organizations that educate voters about the state's new voter ID requirements.

It is co-run by longtime community activist Joe Certaine, a former managing director for the city of Philadelphia.

"People like her, who have the determination to get it done, regardless of the cost or regardless of the number of obstacles that are put in front of you ... inspire anyone to keep up the work," Certaine said. "Nobody ever thought in a million years that we would have to go carry the shield for people who are registered to vote but are being stopped from voting because they don't present the right kind of identification."

Certaine, a husky no-nonsense taskmaster who traveled around the country registering people to vote during the '60s, was moved after Williamson walked into the group's operations center.

Williamson says her sister has voted in every election for as long as she can remember, and she's not about to let her miss one now.