{"id":187,"date":"2020-08-11T11:04:32","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T11:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press-releases\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2020-08-11T11:04:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T11:04:32","slug":"advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates and Voters File to Intervene in Pennsylvania Democrats\u2019 Election Lawsuit"},"template":"","class_list":["post-187","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Common Cause Pennsylvania and other nonpartisan advocacy groups today asked a state court to rule that they may intervene in an election-related lawsuit filed by the state Democratic Party.","featured_image":5934,"press_type":146,"authors":[null],"related_issues":[100,109,471],"related_work":false,"location":41},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"HARRISBURG, Penn. \u2014 Four nonpartisan advocacy groups and three voters from Allegheny County have asked a state court in Pennsylvania to rule that they may intervene in an election-related lawsuit filed by the state Democratic Party.\r\n\r\nBlack Political Empowerment Project, Common Cause Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Make the Road Pennsylvania, and the three voters have told the court that they believe that their interests are broader and possibly divergent from both the Democrats and the Department of State.\r\n\r\nThrough the lawsuit, the intervenors are seeking clarification of several elements of vote-by-mail processes in Pennsylvania, including the need for mail-in and absentee ballot drop boxes and extending the deadline for receiving mail-in and absentee ballots.\r\n\r\nThe intervenors are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Pennsylvania, Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Public Interest Law Center, and the law firm WilmerHale.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur interest is the right to vote for all eligible voters. Period,\u201d said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania<\/strong>. \u201cThe state should be implementing practices that guarantee the vote for everyone, not considering those that do the opposite.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn their filings, the advocates and voters argue that current state law allows counties to provide secure drop boxes for people to submit their absentee and mail-in ballots. That issue is in dispute in this case, as well as a federal lawsuit filed by President Trump\u2019s campaign in a court in western Pennsylvania.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe key mission of the Black Political Empowerment Project is that African Americans vote in each and every election. We advocate that all people vote in each and every election. B-PEP will always stand strongly against any efforts, from any source, that goes against our community being able to fulfill our key mission to utilize the power of the vote, and its ability to impact the many problems which African Americans face on a daily and ongoing basis. The results of the November 3, 2020, presidential election may indeed profoundly affect the future of our African-American communities, both locally and nationally for years to come,\u201d said Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur government \u2018of the people\u2019 is stronger and more representative when every voter can participate \u2014 and that means making sure voters have choices about how they can cast their ballot,\u201d said Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania<\/strong>. \u201cDrop boxes are a crucial option for voters who receive their absentee ballots too late to return them by mail. Without drop boxes, some people will be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote \u2014 and no one should have to make that choice.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe June primary saw challenges in addressing the surge in applications for mail and absentee ballots. Because of this, advocates are also requesting that for the November 2020 general election, the deadline for returning ballots be extended to all ballots mailed by 8 p.m. on Election Day, as long as they are received by November 10, 2020.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs a nonpartisan voting rights organization, the League seeks to intervene on behalf of voters in this case because the current parties explicitly cannot represent all voters,\u201d said Terrie Griffin, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania<\/strong>. \u201cAs our leaders wage political fights over our state's election laws, the League will push to make sure the perspective of voters is brought to the table.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe're part of this lawsuit because everyone needs to be able to participate in our elections without barriers,\u201d said Ivan Garcia, director of community engagement at Make the Road Pennsylvania<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nThe three voters \u2014 Patricia DeMarco, Danielle Graham Robinson, and Kathleen Wise \u2014 are all regular voters who faced significant hurdles in trying to vote in Allegheny County during the state\u2019s primary election in June. DeMarco, Robinson, and Wise are all considered to be high risk for serious illness if they contract the novel coronavirus due to age or health conditions or both, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\r\n\r\nAll three attempted to vote by mail in the primary but faced numerous challenges. Robinson and Wise received their ballots so late that they were not confident that the U.S. Postal Service would deliver them by Election Day; DeMarco mailed her ballot but never received confirmation from the county that it was received.\r\n\r\n\u201cPennsylvanians must be allowed to protect their health and their vote. Making them choose is a false choice, and we will continue to challenge obstacles that are placed in their way,\u201d said Sarah Brannon, managing attorney with the ACLU\u2019s Voting Rights Project<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nRecent revelations of long delays in mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service have compounded the intervenors\u2019 concerns, their attorneys said.\r\n\r\n\u201cVoters deserve a voice in litigation that will affect their access to the ballot box,\u201d said Ben Geffen, staff attorney at the Public Interest Law Center<\/strong>. \u201cOur clients are seeking to intervene in this lawsuit to make the case for a mail-in voting system that is accessible and safe for all voters, including those in communities that have faced the deepest impacts of COVID-19.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAmerican voters are facing too many barriers when they seek to use their rights at the ballot box during this election cycle,\u201d said John Powers, counsel at the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law<\/strong>. \u201cIt should never be this difficult to vote in our democracy, especially during the global pandemic. The court should give these four nonpartisan organizations the ability to participate in this case, which raises critical issues about the accessibility of mail-in voting for all eligible citizens.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe lawsuit, Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar<\/em>, is pending in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.\r\n\r\nToday\u2019s filings are here<\/a> and here<\/a>."}}]},"yoast_head":"\nAdvocates and Voters File to Intervene in Pennsylvania Democrats\u2019 Election Lawsuit - Common Cause Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press-releases\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advocates and Voters File to Intervene in Pennsylvania Democrats\u2019 Election Lawsuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Pennsylvania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press-releases\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/press-releases\/advocates-and-voters-file-to-intervene-in-pennsylvania-democrats-election-lawsuit\/\",\"name\":\"Advocates and Voters File to Intervene in Pennsylvania Democrats\u2019 Election Lawsuit - 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