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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 24, 2015 12:43 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Andrew E. Dinniman |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Maintaining minor political-party representation on county election boards |
| I will soon introduce legislation amending the Pennsylvania Election Code to make perfectly clear that when local courts fill a vacancy on the county election board, they must make sure the election boards include minority-party representation just as they must at all other times. Section 2641(b) of the Election Code states the county commissioners shall serve as the county election board – thus guaranteeing bipartisan representation due to the required bipartisan representation on county boards of commissioners. The Election Code further demonstrates its bipartisan intent by emphasizing that when a vacancy occurs on a county election board of a home-rule charter or optional plan -- counties whose board of commissioners need not include minority-party representation – that “there shall be minority representation on the (election) board.” Our Election Code obviously and rightly recognizes the importance of bipartisanship on the boards that oversee elections. But in my district, the Court of Common Pleas has now repeatedly ignored the spirit of the law by creating election boards whose three members are of the same political party. My bill would require that when courts replace a county commissioner on the board of elections due to a commissioner’s departure or run for office, that the courts replace him or her with someone from the same political party. I hope you join me in supporting this legislation critical to maintaining the integrity of our election process. |
Introduced as SB767