Last week, a video went viral of State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta (D – PA181) delivering an impassioned speech against an amendment to HB 2626. The amendment, which Governor Wolf claims “makes it harder, not easier, for citizens to vote,” aims to ban the use of ballot drop boxes for mail-in ballots statewide. More controversially, it would also allow poll workers to work the polls anywhere in the Commonwealth, not just in the precinct where they reside as state law currently provides. Furthermore, the bill would require county election offices to begin sending out mail-in ballots and finalize their counts earlier. Yet the bill also pushes back the deadline to begin processing mail-in ballots from 3 weeks before election day to the Saturday before the election, a loss of 18 days.
In his speech on Sep. 1, Rep. Kenyatta expressed his discontent: “Allowing people to come from counties, all across the Commonwealth into places like Philadelphia, which is what this exception is created to do, will try to have the intended effect of trying to intimidate people from using their right to vote. We have seen these tactics before. That’s why the Voting Rights Act struck down a lot of these things.” After an hour and a half of floor debate, the Pennsylvania House passed HB 2626 and its amendments 110-92. Three Democrats from Western PA crossed the aisle to support the bill, while only one Republican, Todd Stephens (R – PA151) voted against the measure.
House Bill 2626, in its amended form, currently awaits a vote in the Pennsylvania State Senate, where it is also expected to pass. A spokesperson for the Senate’s Republican majority leadership said they were looking forward to receiving HB 2626 shortly after it passed the House. At the time of this article, the bill had already passed an initial vote in the Senate State Government Committee. The most recent action on the bill was a re-referral to the Senate Appropriations Committee following an unsuccessful Second Consideration on Sep. 9th. Pennsylvania Republicans are seeking to pass this law on the basis of protecting the integrity of elections from voter fraud.
In a second speech before the House on Sep. 2nd, Rep. Kenyatta cited statistics that claim less than 0.1 percent of votes are the result of voter fraud, going on to say, “if you dig deeper into the details a little further, you find that of those cases of voter fraud, most of those cases involved voter intimidation, which this bill would allow to run rampant.” Rep. Kenyatta and many Pennsylvania Democrats believe the motivation for HB 2626 is a response to pressure on Pennsylvania Republicans from President Trump’s reelection campaign, who recently lost a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania over mail-in ballots. In early September, Governor Wolf’s office came out to formally oppose the bill, promising he would veto it if it landed on his desk.
If you need information on how to register to vote or the various methods by which you can cast your ballot this November, visit votespa.com (for Pennsylvania residents) or vote.gov (for information on all US states and territories). Also, be sure to watch for emails and events about registering to vote and methods of voting on campus this fall!
