Statement From LWVPA On SB735 And HB1300

For immediate release:
Contact: Susan Gobreski
sgobreski@sedgwick-group.com267-972-8066

As one of Pennsylvania's leading organizations working on voting rights and good government, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania strongly opposes SB735.  

Given that the Commonwealth already has voter ID requirements, it is certainly fair game to discuss both the requirements for Voter ID and appropriate limits for those requirements, but those are matters for legislation and codes, not for the Constitution. Amending the Constitution should be reserved for enshrining rights, not imposing requirements.

As for the topic, SB 735 asks voters to enact a provision that already exists. Our existing system has worked very well to ensure that qualified electors are the only ones voting. Given that we don’t have problems related to Voter ID and we already have an effective law about it, it is both pointless, and costly - which is a terrible combination.  

We are disappointed in numerous provisions of #HB1300 which passed the Pennsylvania House yesterday and the State Senate Government Committee today after very brief discussion on just a few provisions in the lengthy legislation.

We are equally disappointed in the process to pass it. There should have been more than one week for experts, stakeholders and the public to review the bill and comment on specific provisions.

The League of Women Voters opposes HB1300 because it includes  provisions that will make voting more difficult and will reduce -- and in some cases eliminate -- voting options. It proposes rollback of the use of dropboxes and satellite election offices, which help make voting more convenient for people who live farther from the county seat or who work different hours. It imposes an extremely long delay in the implementation of early voting, but a rush process to implement a signature verification system. Such a system can work when the proper tools, preparation and training are firmly in place.  That is unlikely in the immediate future, and this legislation does not provide for needed controls to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised.

There are other concerns, too many to enumerate here. A longer statement is available on our webpage. 

We had held out hope for more narrowly tailored legislation that addressed the actual concerns of counties and that built upon the new voting methods, rather than rolling them back and restricting their use.

We support a veto of this troubling bill.

We are profoundly disappointed in the number of lawmakers who continue to provoke and exploit fear and use it as an excuse to make voting and election administration more difficult.

Pennsylvania voters deserve better. The legislature should do better.