Election Protection

Purging lawful voters from Pennsylvania’s voter rolls is illegal and undemocratic, voting rights groups said today while filing a motion to intervene to protect voting rights in the state. 

“Regardless of the challenges inherent to holding an election in the midst of a pandemic and implementing historic voting reforms all at the same time, it is essential that every eligible voter must be able to cast a ballot, regardless of zip code, proximity to public transportation, disability, or language access needs,” said Suzanne Almeida, Interim Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania.

Suzanne Almeida, interim director of the voting accessibility advocacy group Common Cause Pennsylvania, said she supports, “in principle,” the sending of mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters in the state, but wants to make sure it’s accessible to all voters — including those with visual disabilities who would need to vote on a ballot marking device, for example.

“Rescheduling a primary election is not a decision that is made lightly, but moving this election now prevents us from having to implement last minute changes, which can disenfranchise voters,” a statement from Common Cause said. “We witnessed last week’s confusion in Ohio, when its government cancelled an election at the last minute. We don’t want that in Pennsylvania.”

This is a defining time in our state’s history. It is apparent that the COVID-19 crisis is reshaping many of our day-to-day lives in unexpected ways, including the rescheduling of Pennsylvania’s primary election....