Gov. Tom Wolf fulfilled his promise and vetoed controversial election reform legislation (H.B. 1300), while also vetoing a contentious line item in the state budget that may have allowed for partisan audits of elections.
Members of the nonpartisan Keystone Votes coalition, one of the state’s leading and most respected voices when it comes to modernizing Pennsylvania’s election process, have been focused on one thing — making sure the will of voters remains front and center in these discussions.
Unfortunately, this legislation, while it includes some positive changes, does more harm than good.
Pennsylvania voters — not to mention hardworking state and county-level election officials — wanted the legislature and governor to come together on issues where there was agreement, like permitting pre-canvassing and allowing mail-in ballots to be reviewed by election officials in advance of election day to improve election security, guaranteed faster election results on election night, and given voters a chance to correct simple mistake with their ballots.
None of that happened.
“Instead of negotiating to advance measures where there was common ground on both sides of the aisle, this all-or-nothing approach leaves us with absolutely nothing; or, at the least, it delays any reforms until the fall, when it will be overly burdensome for local election officials, as they testified to lawmakers, and confusing for voters who will have to navigate any last-minute changes,” said Ray Murphy, state coordinator for Keystone Votes.
The last-minute deal to craft a 2021-22 General Fund budget that included money to create a Bureau of Election Audits and potentially finance partisan election audits only raised the stakes and concerns among voting rights advocates.
“The Bureau of Election Audits created in this bill statutorily was a cause for concern for us, and, unfortunately, continues to be in discussions we’ve been hearing. Any change moving forward must be made in a bipartisan effort, like Acts 77 and 12. Let’s hope cooler heads prevail over the summer so we can get an agreement in place quickly before the fall,” Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania.“
Members of the coalition applauded the governor’s actions.
“Governor Tom Wolf made the right decision to veto House Bill 1300,” said Diana Robinson, Civic Engagement Director for Make the Road PA. “The measure included several good proposals, including some we supported, but the legislative package proposed too many partisan changes that tilted the playing field in favor of one party over another, limited equal access to the ballot, and created far too many barriers to our freedom to vote.”
“As disheartened as we are that important election reforms will have to wait, even after legislative hearings and vigorous debate showed wide agreement across the aisle on several key issues, the governor was absolutely right to veto this measure,” said Wesley Gadsden Statewide Field Director for One PA. “Overall, this measure does far more harm than good. But this can’t be the end of the discussion. Reform is essential and there are still changes we can and should make before the next election.”
All of us at Keystone Votes hope these latest actions serve as a wakeup call and help us find a pathway to advance measures where there’s common ground.
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For Keystone Votes’ full legislative agenda, please visit www.KeystoneVotes.org.
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