Category: Elections and Voting

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The Problem with Act 77: Eliminating Straight Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, Memos, PA Budget and Policy Center

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. To: State legislators, editorial board writers, political reporters, and interested parties From: Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Re: Elimination of Straight-Ticket Voting and Related Matters Voting is the fundamental political right of all Americans. And so, election reform must mean making it easier, rather than harder, for Americans to cast their votes for every office. Sadly, there is a long legacy in this country of doing the opposite. Whether put forward by racists determined to protect white supremacy or good government “reformers” determined to weaken the political power of immigrants and the working class, American states have adopted a series of proposals—such as onerous barriers to registration, limited hours and times for voting, too-frequent purges of the voter rolls, and Voter ID laws—that, inadvertently or in many cases deliberately, have made it more difficult to vote. A package of election reforms is now under… Continue reading

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On Gov. Wolf’s Veto of SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Voting

Published on KRC-PBPB here. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier made the following statement on Governor Wolf’s veto of SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “We are gratified that Governor Wolf has vetoed SB48.” “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot.” “As my colleague Kadida Kenner pointed out in a powerful op-ed (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), eliminating straight ticket voting would have depressed the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, in down-ballot races— including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, the attempt to eliminate straight-ticket voting was a shameful attempt by a Republican Party… Continue reading

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On SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement on SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania Counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. “Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot. “As my colleague Kadida Kenner points out in a powerful op-ed today (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), this action will diminish the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, especially in down-ballot races—including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, this is another shameful attempt by the Republican Party to rig our political system in their favor. “We strongly urge Governor Wolf to veto this bill and find an alternative means of helping… Continue reading

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It's what's in the heart that counts: Lou Agre for State Representative in the 194th

  By Elections and Voting, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

I went to a 194th state representative district candidate event last week at Roxborough Memorial Hospital. It made clear to me why, when we decide which candidate to support, we progressives have to get out of the habit of looking at the elaborate questionnaires candidates produce and focus on what their history tells us about where their heart is. Sometime in the next two years, the person who wins this election is going to have to make a decision about a new piece of legislation before him or her. It might be late at night and there won’t be time to call some advisor to find out what is the right thing to do. There won’t be time to determine whether the legislation violates a core ideal of Democrats or progressives. The next representative for the 194th district is just going to have to use his or her judgment and… Continue reading

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It's time to rotate ballot position

  By Elections and Voting, Philadelphia

After every judicial election someone makes this obvious point: it’s time to rotate ballot position from ward to ward. Picking a number out of a can should not determine who sits on the bench or who is elected to City Council or the General Assembly. The only unendorsed candidates who managed to win yesterday had the first or second ballot position. Some of them were also very well qualifed candidates who had other sources of support, such as Diane Thompson, and they might have won anyway. But some will be on the bench primarily because of ballot position. One endorsed candidate who deserves to be on the bench, Joyce Eubanks, had the worst conceivable ballot position. A few voters came out of the polls yesterday and told me that they “could not find her.” So you would think that now that the party has shown it’s ability to hang together… Continue reading

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Live blogging: turnout today

  By Elections and Voting, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

I’m stealing someone’s wi-fi now so I can report on what I’m hearing about turnout In my division 21-24 in Mt. Airy, it has been slow and steady all day with no real rush in the morning. We have about 175 voters right now. That might get us to 45%. We have about 903 total registered voters and typically do 70-75% in primaries and 90% in presidential generals. I just heard about a division in Germantown, Ward 12, that had about 50 voters an hour ago. I don’t know the division but most division in ward 12 have 300 voters or so, if I remember correctly. So they could get to 40-50% A friend in Overbrook, ward 34, said that there were 15 voters at 7:30 which is low but not abysmal for that time of day. I’m told by people running state wide judicial campaigns that if turnout is… Continue reading

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Ruth Damsker made a sacrifice for our country. So can you.

  By Elections and Voting, Pennsylvania

It is hard to find heroism and courage in our politics these days. When was the last time you saw a major politician take a big risk or an unpopular stand? If you live in the Delaware Valley, however, you don’t have to look far to see political courage. You just have to look at Ruth Damsker, who is running for reelection as a Country Commissioner in Montgomery County. Now you might wonder how a candidate for County Commission could possibly show heroism. To see the answer, you have to understand just how important the County Commissioner’s race is in the third biggest county in the state. Democrats have not won two of the three seats on the Montgomery County Commission in anyone’s memory. Like many formerly suburban counties around the country, Montco is becoming Democratic. It votes Democratic in national and state-wide elections. But the old party habits have… Continue reading

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This year the action is Montco

  By Elections and Voting, Pennsylvania

For a long time it is has been obvious to anyone who pays attention to politics that the future of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania rests on our ability to control the counties that surround Philadelphia. Here, and elsewhere in the country, suburban counties that have historically voted Republican are rapidly turning Democratic. Whether moved by liberal views on sexual and lifestyle issues or by an aversion to the Republican War Machine or, in some cases, by the liberal economic views of a large contingent of professionals and managers, suburban counties are voting Democratic. Indeed the position of these suburban counties is similar to that of white Southern counties in the 1970s. White Southern counties were already voting for Republicans in Presidential and Senatorial elections by the mid-seventies. They started voting for Republican Governors and US Representatives soon after. And then finally, they started voting for Republican local officials and… Continue reading

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Haircuts and contributions and me

  By Elections and Voting, My 2007 Campaign

I read in the Daily News today that John Edwards is paying for haircuts that cost from $225 to $400 out of his campaign contributions, including one haircut from a “a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa.” Since I am working hard right now to raise money for the last month of the campaign–and people comment about how I’m actually keeping my hair short during the campaign–I want everyone to know that I get my hair cut at Julius Scissor on Locust Street, as I have for 22 years, and that I pay for those haircuts out of my own pocket, except for one day, when I paid for my haircut, and my campaign manager’s, with the wrong checkbook. I repaid the campaign as soon as I discovered the mistake. If you want to help my campaign, you can do so by contributing on-line at http://www.stier2007.com/contribute. Or you can… Continue reading