Day: November 15, 2021

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MEMO: PA House Bill 1800 Is Voter Suppression and Its Amendments Are Shameful

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

To: Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly From: Marc Stier, Director, PA Budget and Policy Center Re: HB 1800 and proposed amendments  The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center opposes nearly all the provisions of HB 1800 and urges members of the House to vote against it. We evaluate the legislative proposals about elections with three criteria in mind: First, they should make voting easier and more accessible for the people of Pennsylvania. Second, while they should preserve the security of our elections, they should not include security features that are unnecessary or that make voting less accessible. And third, they should provide sufficient funds to the county governments that administer our elections. Sufficient funding for our elections would resolve most of the technical problems with elections in Pennsylvania today. By these standards, HB 1800 is not genuine election reform at all. We will consider the details of the bill below.… Continue reading

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The Dougherty-Henon Verdict is a Miscarriage of Justice and Why it Matters

  By Labor, Philadelphia

John Dougherty and Bobby Henon were convicted of bribery and other charges today. Having read the original indictment and followed the trial closely, I continue to think that indictment and trial, as well as the conviction, was a terrible miscarriage of justice. Aside from the last couple of paragraphs, I wrote the following about six week ago before the trial started. I have seen no reason to change my argument or conclusion. …This trial of John Dougherty and Bobby Henon strikes me as an attempt to criminalize everyday politics. Did John Dougherty want Bobby Henon to be on City Council so that he would have a friend who would support Local 98’s causes. Yes. But that’s not illegal. Everyone who supports a candidate or makes a contribution to him or her wants that. Did John Dougherty need to have Bobby Henon on his payroll for Henon to support Local 98’s… Continue reading