Election Integrity

Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a good-government advocacy group that works on issues related to voter access, called the subpoenas approved Wednesday a “frightening violation of voters’ privacy and an egregious abuse of power.” “There’s no explanation about what they intend to do with the information, or why they think they need it,” he said in a statement. “They also have not announced any plans for security measures to protect the information from disclosure. … Pennsylvanians deserve to have their private information protected by the people they elected to office, not used as political fodder to appease lies told by a former president.”

Members of the nonpartisan Keystone Votes coalition today urged the governor to veto House Bill 1300, a sweeping but controversial set of GOP-backed legislative election reforms.

In a separate statement, Common Cause PA executive director Khalif Ali said a fiscal statement revealed a one-time implementation cost for the bill’s requirements at $99 million with annual costs approaching $19 million. “That’s an awful lot of taxpayer money for the Legislature to spend, to implement a bill that will make it harder for us to cast ballots and have our voices heard,” Ali said.

Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano visited the Arizona State Fairgrounds yesterday, where charlatan consultants have been conducting a sham review of the November 2020 general election. Voting machines and ballots have been irrevocably destroyed in the process. He is  proposing to replicate the process in Pennsylvania.

However Common Cause, an election integrity group which prides itself as a network of democracy experts says it’s a matter of human error. “Don’t get me wrong, the timing is great but we don’t consider it to be a systemic issue so we’re not ready to raise any red flags just yet," said Khalif Ali, Executive Director of Common Cause. Ali says it’s still important to vote.

“Every eligible Pennsylvanian wants to – and should – have a say in deciding which people and policies will determine the future for our families, community, and country. Pennsylvanians are not going to have faith in our government if there are new barriers to participation. The public reaction to Georgia’s anti-voter legislation shows exactly that -- cutting access leads to greater distrust.”