Today at 10:00 am, the House State Government Committee will hold its final hearing on Pennsylvania’s election systems, in the wake of the November 2020 elections. Today’s final hearing in the series is scheduled to take testimony from “stakeholders.” 

Common Cause Pennsylvania Executive Director Khalif Ali will testify at the hearing. Common Cause Pennsylvania has 34,000 members in all 67 counties. 

“Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and this year we witnessed that first hand,” Ali will testify. “Despite incredible challenges, a global pandemic, limited staff and funding, we saw a record number of Pennsylvanians participate in our democracy and cast our ballots. Whether it was at their kitchen table, at a satellite elections office or at our local polling place, Pennsylvanians made our voices heard. The bipartisan work that the Pennsylvania legislature did on Act 77 and Act 12 made that possible, and we thank you.”

Ali will note that “While we saw a record number of votes being cast in 2020, we also saw a disturbing trend in the politics of our nation – the intentional sowing of distrust in the election process, causing people to question what their government does for them.”

“Every eligible Pennsylvanian wants to – and should – have a say in deciding which people and policies will determine the future for our families, community, and country,” Ali will say. “Pennsylvanians are not going to have faith in our government if there are new barriers to participation. The public reaction to Georgia’s anti-voter legislation shows exactly that — cutting access leads to greater distrust.”

Ali will outline six ways Pennsylvania’s elections system can be improved to add transparency and give voters more choices for how to cast their ballots.

Read his prepared testimony here.