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In 2023, we welcomed a new executive director and continued our mission to defend the tenets of democracy and fight for the right of every Pennsylvanian to be heard. From preserving the right to cast a mail ballot to promoting ethics and accountability in government, we engage at the state and local level to empower citizens and ensure that our government serves the people in the place where American democracy was created.

Through our nonpartisan, process-oriented, results-driven, and inclusive approach we have worked to make Pennsylvania’s government more honest, open, and accountable. 

In 2024, our priorities include:

Defending Pennsylvanians’ right to vote by mail. Millions of Pennsylvanians have voted by mail in recent years. In 2024, we can improve our system further by ensuring equitable and convenient access to ballot dropboxes, allowing counties to process mail and absentee ballots before Election Day, and requiring counties to notify voters of defective ballots and allow them to fix any defects that would disqualify their vote.

Modernizing our voter registration system. Before a voter can choose whether to vote early in person, by mail, or on Election Day, they need to register. In 2023, Pennsylvania adopted automatic voter registration at the DMV, a significant victory for Pennsylvania voters that will also help to improve the accuracy of the voter rolls and reduce costs for election administrators. We can improve that system by implementing automatic voter registration at more state agencies designated by the Secretary of State, investigating ways to streamline voter registration updates between agencies, and allowing voters to register to vote or update their voter registration at their polling place on Election Day.

Advancing independent citizens redistricting commissions. Our election districts are drawn by politicians and their appointees. Pennsylvanians deserve a fair, citizen-led redistricting process that puts our communities first. This year, we will advance proposals to implement independent, citizen’s redistricting commissions in Pennsylvania.

Supporting election administrators. We have the utmost respect for the professionals that administer our elections. To help ensure that they can continue to run our elections safely and accurately, we urge state and local governments to provide sufficient election funding and uniform, comprehensive training to all poll workers. We also support legislation that would establish penalties for those who harass or threaten election workers.

Ensuring access to voting in jails and prisons. Most people in jails are not convicted of any crime, but are unable to pay bail. Individuals who are incarcerated, but who have not been convicted of a felony, are constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote; but too often, that right is denied. This year, we will support legislation to protect the right to vote from jail.

Implementing standards for post-election audits. We support bipartisan legislation to institute risk-limiting post-election audits, the gold standard in ensuring accurate election results reporting.

Ensuring everyone’s vote truly counts in presidential elections. In two of the past six presidential elections, the candidate who won the most popular votes lost the election. This year, we will support efforts to change this winner-take-all Electoral College system by activating the National Popular Vote compact here in Pennsylvania.

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