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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 9, 2022 04:31 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Malcolm Kenyatta |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Early Voting and Ballot Pre-Canvassing |
| For most of our state’s history, voting has been conducted in person for only two days out of the year. This severely curtailed the ability of many eligible voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Mail-in voting enhanced the ability of everyday Pennsylvanians to vote, and nearly a quarter of ballots cast in the most recent election were done so by mail. Nevertheless, time constraints still exist for voters. Unfortunately, state law prohibits counties from beginning the work of counting mail-in ballots until 7:00 a.m. on election day, greatly slowing down the determination of results. The state, and indeed the nation, should no longer be kept in suspense, waiting for election results days after the polls have closed in Pennsylvania. For this reason, I plan to introduce legislation to establish early voting in our state and to allow counties to begin counting ballots starting two weeks before election day. It is time we follow the lead of other states in allowing individuals to vote early. It is time that we work to ensure all eligible voters can exercise their right to vote. It is time we lessen the burden on county election workers and allow them to begin counting ballots well ahead of election day. This is a commonsense proposal that will benefit all eligible voters in our great state. We should always strive to make voting more accessible and to announce election results as efficiently as possible. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation and send a unifying message to all residents: your voice matters. |
Introduced as HB704