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VotePA NEWS
For Immediate Release: February 28, 2006
PLAINTIFF RESPONDS
TO PA SECRETARY OF STATE ALLEGATIONS THAT LAWSUIT DELAYED VOTING MACHINES
Westmoreland County citizens responded strongly
today to Secretary of State Pedro Cortés’ recent memorandum that stated their court case has impeded the progress Pennsylvania
counties are making toward buying new voting machines to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act by the May 16 primary
election.
Ten Westmoreland voters filed a lawsuit last month along with state senator Jim Ferlo who represents part
of the county, seeking to preserve the right to choose a voting system under the Pennsylvania Constitution and approve any
change from lever machines to electronic voting by referendum. Earlier this month Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini
ruled in favor of the citizens, but Westmoreland County and the Pennsylvania Department of State have appealed that decision
to the State Supreme Court. In the meantime, Secretary Cortés’ memorandum was sent to all county officials and appeared
on Governor Ed Rendell’s web site over the weekend.
As lead plaintiff in the suit, Mary Beth Kuznik expressed
dismay that an honest effort made by citizens to preserve the rights of all Pennsylvanians under the state Constitution was
being blamed for a delay in buying voting machines and a potential loss of Help America Vote Act funding...
Kuznik said that her group and others are calling upon Secretary Cortés and Governor Rendell take
the next step to make sure that votes are protected by pushing for hearings and ultimate passage of SB 977
/ HB 2000.
SB 977 and its identical House version HB 2000 would provide that all voting systems in the state
produce a paper record or ballot allowing voters to verify that their choices are being recorded as cast, with an audit of
5% of the precincts chosen at random in each election. The bills, proposed by Senator Joe Conti (R-Bucks) and Representative
Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) have co-sponsorship of over one-fourth of their respective houses, but are delayed in the State
Government committees and have been unable to move to either the public hearings called for by the Governor’s Task Force
on Election Reform, or to a floor vote in the General Assembly.
“Pennsylvanians want to see and verify their
vote on a piece of recountable, auditable paper,” said Kuznik. “Regardless of the outcome of the Westmoreland
County lawsuit, let’s get these bills moving and passed into law so that when we do move to the new machines our citizens
can be confident that their votes will be counted accurately.”
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