Press Release

“Our democracy is strongest when constituents are informed about the job our elected leaders are doing in Washington,” said Khalif Ali, Common Cause Pennsylvania executive director.

It was reported earlier today that Pennsylvania Republican candidate for Governor, state Senator Doug Mastriano, posed in a Confederate uniform costume in a faculty photo for the Army War College in 2017.

"State Senator Mastriano owes it to the people of Pennsylvania and to his country to speak truthfully about what he knows."

"This decision ensures that millions of Pennsylvania voters can continue to cast their ballots safely and conveniently in the manner they choose. Act 77 was passed with strong bipartisan support for good reason – making voting easier and more accessible is the right thing to do." 

Republicans plan to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to place these measures on a municipal primary election ballot – where maybe one-in-five voters will see them and be able to voice their opinion on them. Each constitutional amendment costs around $2 million in advertising costs. So far, if passed as-is, SB106 will cost taxpayers $12 million before they even have a chance to vote on them. 

Poll watchers are empowered to make “challenges to an elector's identity, continued residence in the election district, or qualifications as an eligible voter” -- things that someone from outside the community would have no way of knowing.