FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, probertson@sbalist.org (240) 672-2828
Washington, D.C. – Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro yesterday announced his candidacy for governor in 2022.
In June, Shapiro celebrated Governor Tom Wolf’s veto of the Voting Rights Protection Act (H.B. 1300), comprehensive ballot integrity legislation that would increase voter access and help bolster fair, secure, and transparent elections in Pennsylvania.
The legislation contained key provisions overwhelmingly supported by Pennsylvania voters. According to the Franklin & Marshall College poll, 81% of respondents favor signature matching for mail-in ballots, including 88% of Independents and 64% of Democrats. Photo identification requirements are favored by 74% of respondents, including 77% of Independents.
National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued the following statement:
“Especially after so many Pennsylvania voters have questioned fair and accurate voting practices, the first thing they deserve is confidence that the next administration will be led by someone who takes them seriously. Unfortunately, with Josh Shapiro, voters are only getting more uncertainty, distrust, and doubt that every legal Pennsylvania vote can be cast and counted fairly and openly. With Josh Shapiro, it won’t be easy to vote and hard to cheat in Pennsylvania elections, it will be easy to cheat and hard to prove.
“There’s a reason why common-sense voter integrity measures such as photo I.D. and signature verification for mail-in ballots are so popular – they help ensure a fair, secure, and transparent system of elections voters can trust. Make no mistake, the Wolf-Shapiro veto put party politics before the people who should come first. Pennsylvania voters simply cannot trust them to act in good faith.”
READ MORE @ Happy Valley Times: Pennsylvania Governor’s Election Bill Veto Draws Praise from Attorney General, Criticism from Former GOP Office-holder
If not for Wolf’s veto, the Voting Rights Protection Act would have increased voter access and improve ballot security and accountability by adding:
- County-issued voter ID protections
- Signature verification to verify voter eligibility
- A Bureau of Election Audits
- Updated procedures to help voters with disabilities
- Faster lines at polling places
- Enhanced training and higher pay for election workers
- State funding to help pay for elections
- Poll observer protections
- Penalties for attempting to intimidate an election official
- Expanded voter registration deadline (15 days to 30 days before election)
- Drop box security
- Voter list maintenance
Recent polling shows the majority of voters, including Black and Hispanic as well as urban and independent voters, overwhelmingly support voter I.D. protections and want it to be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between American Principles Project (APP) and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), was organized to combat H.R. 1/S. 1 and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
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