Abraham Lincoln once remarked that “elections belong to the people,” and those people should feel confident that their choices are being accurately recorded. Even as concerns about hacking generate headlines, and some on the right bay about voter fraud that’s been shown time and again to be chimerical, everyday voters should feel assured when they leave their polling places that their votes will and truly count.
The whole “hanging chad” debacle in Florida during the 2000 presidential election certainly gave many pause, and the widely used computer touchscreens that Washington County has used for the last 12 years have prompted a certain amount of unease because they leave no paper trail. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania’s Department of State mandated that all 67 of the commonwealth’s counties should have new voting systems in place that provide a paper trail by the 2020 presidential election.
A story in last Friday’s edition of the Observer-Reporter outlined the sales pitch officials in Washington County heard from vendors trying to persuade officials their system is the best for both voters and county coffers. A sales presentation was offered by another company in July, and a decision is expected in the months ahead so the new system can be given a dry run in the 2019 municipal and county elections.
Upgrading voting systems is necessary, particularly since any devices that are 12 years old run the risk of going on the blink, even though officials have emphasized that individual machines are tested before votes are cast to ensure they are in functioning order. There are worries, however, that the $13 million Pennsylvania is getting from the federal government for the update will not be sufficient to cover the costs. Earlier this year, the Brennan Center for Justice estimated the federal allotment would cover only 17 to 27 percent of the costs for the upgrade, but would leave the state and counties to cover the rest.
In April, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “maybe for some counties that are in real need, meaning the machines are breaking down and having those kinds of issues, for some of the smaller counties, it might be helpful. But if you are going to try to do it on a statewide basis, it just won’t be nearly enough.”
Even as Pennsylvania works to overhaul its voting systems, it should take additional steps to make voting easier. It should look toward states like Oregon, Colorado and Washington that allow voting by mail. Earlier this year, Gov. Tom Wolf made a series of sensible proposals, such as instituting same-day registration, automatic registration and allowing people to get absentee ballots without having to provide an excuse. Sure, these proposals were likely made to excite progressive voters in an election year, and there’s little chance any of them will become law as long as Wolf has to deal with a Republican Legislature, but he should be credited for laying down a marker.
According to a Pew Research Center study released earlier this year, voter participation in the United States lags behind most other developed nations, including our neighbors Mexico and Canada, and longtime allies like Germany and Britain. Making it easier to vote – and ensuring that our voting systems are foolproof – needs to be high on our list of priorities.
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