Should Mitt Romney win Pennsylvania in November, it won't be because Republican lawmakers conspired to "guarantee" his victory.

Tuesday, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert E. Simpson Jr. issued a narrow injunction suspending implementation of the state's voter ID law for this year's presidential election.

Barring a last-ditch effort by Gov. Tom Corbett, the decision is likely to stand.

The ruling comes on the heels of the state Supreme Court's decision to send the case back to Simpson.

The high court ordered Simpson to determine if the procedures in place to provide proper voter identification cards met the requirement of "liberal access" to voting as spelled out in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

On Aug. 15, Simpson had rejected a request for a preliminary injunction by opponents. He said then that he believed the state could avoid disenfranchising voters by providing the necessary identification cards. An estimated 600,000 Pennsylvanians were said to be lacking proper ID cards.

But in his ruling Tuesday, Simpson noted that even though the state has streamlined efforts for voters to obtain proper identification, he doubted there is enough time for every voter to receive a proper ID card. As part of his ruling, he noted that state officials said that the expedited efforts were creating new and unforeseen problems.

A number of organizations have documented widespread confusion with the voter ID law.

Simpson's opinion means the general election will mirror the primary. That is, voters will be asked to show ID, but will not be denied the right to vote if they do not possess it.

Simpson disallowed a proposal to allow voters to cast provisional ballots because it could disenfranchise voters who would have been required to return to show their identification within six days.

The voter ID law has been a politically charged issue since its passage in March.

Opponents gained additional traction when state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, a Republican, asserted before the state Republican Committee that "Voter ID ... is gonna allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania ... ."

Although the polls show Romney trailing by a substantial margin on the eve of the first presidential debate, he still could win the state.

Should he do so, it would be a victory untainted by questions of voter disenfranchisement.

It would be legitimate. And that would make it all the sweeter.