From Pennsylvania Common Cause: (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/):
In less than 5 months, Pennsylvanians will begin casting their ballots in the November election — but COVID-19 and the ongoing protests against police brutality and structural racism raise tons of unanswered questions about what that’ll look like:
How can election officials get ready for a major increase in absentee and vote by mail ballot requests? Will there be enough polling places to prevent long lines? And what do we do to make sure that every voter — regardless of disability, race, socioeconomic status, or age — can be heard?
Our Legislature has the power to answer these questions — and whether voters will be able to cast a ballot safely and securely this November is in their hands.
Call your legislator and urge them to protect Pennsylvania voters now — before it’s too late.
We’re fighting for the Pennsylvania Legislature to take three important steps before the fall:
- Pass a bill allowing for all ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up until seven days after the election… this change will give voters more time to return their mail-in ballots and ensure that every vote gets counted — a critical reform especially in light of mail delays and capacity issues in county elections offices during the primary
- Authorize county boards of elections to create vote centers… this reform will help to limit the widespread voter confusion we saw in the primary — because voters can show up at any of the polling places in their county, they don’t have to worry about tracking last-minute changes or consolidation of polling locations
- Allocate much-needed funding to county boards of elections… counties are short on funds after our unusual primary — and they need more money to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitization supplies, pay for printing and postage supplies for mail-in ballots, and offer enhanced ballot tracking services to voters
The election may feel far away now, but counties need time to implement election reforms before November — and rushing them will only make things worse.
Find direction to call your legislators now at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/log-your-call-urge-your-legislators-to-protect-pa-voters-now. Tell them to take immediate action on our elections: by counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, creating vote centers, and allocating much-needed funding to county boards of elections.
We don’t know what the coming months may bring, but our democracy depends on all Pennsylvanians having a voice — and we’re glad you’re fighting with us to make that possible.
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