In Pennsylvania, election integrity reforms have been introduced that have broad bipartisan support but are not supported by Gov. Tom Wolf. | Pexels/Edmond Dantès
In Pennsylvania, election integrity reforms have been introduced that have broad bipartisan support but are not supported by Gov. Tom Wolf. | Pexels/Edmond Dantès
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave Argall (R-Rush Township) isn't giving up on a bipartisan election reform bill, despite the fact that Gov. Tom Wolf's (D) administration refused his invitation to discuss the proposed legislation, The Center Square reported.
Senate Bill 878 would give election workers three days to pre-canvass mail-in ballots, improve drop-box security and move back deadlines to help counties process millions of registrations and mail-in ballot requests.
The legislation is cosponsored by Argall and Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), who cochair the State Government Committee.
Sen. David Argall
| stock photo
“Work continues with Sen. Street and interested stakeholders in the hopes of moving Senate Bill 878 soon -- with possible amendments to address some of the concerns with the bill,” Argall told The Center Square. “Election reform will continue to be my top priority for the Senate State Government Committee.”
A similar bill is pending in the Pennsylvania House. It was introduced by Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), chairman of the House State Government Committee. York's bill contains a voter identification provision.
Time for negotiating a final bill is dwindling, according to Grove.
“We have a major election year next year, and I will not allow massive changes next year,” he said last month. Argall does not have a similar timeline, The Center Square reported.
However, he did chastise the Department of State for not appearing before his committee to discuss their concerns.
“Instead of working with us… we read about the governor’s threats to veto this bipartisan bill in the newspapers,” he told The Center Square. “It’s a very odd way to communicate with us.”
A poll taken during this past summer showed wide support for an increase in election integrity measures. Issues like signature verification and voter ID requirements were met with mostly favorable responses. Thirty percent of respondents listed "government and politicians" as their top concern, according to City & State Pennsylvania.
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