How Can I Help?

You can make a difference!  We are moving closer to a win on this issue, but there is still work to do!  Good news in 2018:  The Montgomery County Commissioners announced in Feb. 2018 their intention to buy new voting machines.  In the PA General Assembly, a Joint State Government Commission report on Voting Technology recommended “the General Assembly provide funding to assist counties in the purchase or lease of new equipment that complies with the requirements for a voter-verifiable paper record and adequate security measures.”  Governor Wolf required that newly purchased voting machines must provide a paper trail to improve “security and auditability” of Pennsylvania’s elections.  The bipartisan Secure Elections Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate (S.2261), saying that “voting systems must have an auditable paper record, and that election officials must regularly audit that paper record to catch sources of error and fraud”.  These are all good first steps, but our elected officials need to hear from us, so that new electronic voting systems which scan voter-marked paper ballots will become a reality.  Read below for easy ways to take action.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE:                Easy Ways to Take Action

1. Thank the the Montgomery County Commissioners for their commitment to buy new voting machines in 2018, and urge them to purchase systems that scan paper ballots which are hand-marked by voters.  Systems should also include accessible ballot-marking devices which print ballots that are the same as the hand-marked ballots.  Commissioners’ emails are val@montcopa.org, ken@montcopa.org, and joe@montcopa.org.
2. Ask your PA state legislators to provide funding and election code changes to require new voting systems that scan voter-marked paper ballots.  (Find your Reps here)  Remind them that PA is behind the curve. Many states have already switched to paper ballots.
3. Email Governor Wolf and ask him to fast-track certification of voter-marked paper ballot voting systems.  Ask him to include funding for these voting systems in the state budget. Contact the Governor at https://www.governor.pa.gov/contact/.
4. Call Senators Toomey (202-224-4254) and Casey (202-224-6324).  Ask them to support S.2261.
5. Come to one of the following events to learn more:
   * Feb. 28 – CBE presents at Upper Moreland Democrats at the Upper Moreland Public Library                                                                                                     *March 11 – CBE presents at the LM Indivisible meeting – Ludington Library, 2pm to 3:30pm
6. Sign up for Action Alerts from Citizens for Better Elections at this link.
7. Join our Facebook group: Citizens for Better Elections
8. Follow us on Twitter @cbelections
9. Sign up to be a poll worker.  Secure elections need committed volunteers to find and prevent problems.  Click here to notify us that you plan to volunteer.  Then call Voter Services at 610-278-3278 to sign up.