Testimony prepared by Lora Lavin, Government Specialist

The League is a nonpartisan political organization founded in 1920 by activists who secured voting rights for women. Protecting the right to vote is our basic purpose. Over the years we have worked through education and advocacy to safeguard and enhance that right including increasing accessibility to the electoral process. We successfully lobbied for enactment of the 1970 Amendments to the Voting rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). We are frequently consulted by organizations that want to conduct voter registration drives and to answer questions about registration and voting.

It was our pleasure to have the opportunity to testify on the preliminary State Plan in July 2003. We are actively involved in the six advisory panels established by DOS to assist in implementing the State Plan and are one of more than two dozen organizations that make up the Pennsylvania Voters Coalition.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the proposed Amendments to the State Plan to implement the Help America Voter Act in Pennsylvania.

Much progress has been made since the State Plan was adopted last year. Provisional voting has become a reality meaning that, in the low turnout 2004 Primary Election alone, over 900 people were able to cast votes and have their votes counted who might otherwise have been turned away when they arrived at the polls. Through the formation of six advisory panels, organizations representing the members of the voting public with a variety of interest and special needs have been involved in advising the Department on projects required under HAVA, including the preparation of materials for public education and outreach and procedures and materials for implementing the new provisional ballot and ID requirements. All the counties have completed a survey of polling place accessibility to the physically handicapped and the goal of completing a centralized registry of voters (SURE) is within sight. An extensive bilingual public education program including a video, PSA’s, billboards and an update of the “All About Elections” booklet is in progress. The Department’s website, also in two languages, has been redesigned.

Going forward the immediate challenge for Pennsylvania is to make every effort to promote the widest possible participation in the upcoming General Election and to avoid problems that would result in unnecessary disenfranchisement of voters. The League of Women Voters has identified the following as the top five risks to eligible voters in 2004:

1. Voter registration problems
2. Erroneous purging
3. Problems with the New ID requirement
4. Difficulties with Voting Systems
5. Failure to Count Provisional Ballots

The 2004 Amendments outline the Department’s plans to address some of the concerns we raised in our testimony last year which bear directly on these potential problems, especially poll worker training. A program for meeting the goal of standardized statewide program for training district election officials is in progress. Before the Primary Election, only thirteen of the 67 counties took advantage of opportunities offered by DOS staff to assist with training of poll workers. We believe that it is imperative that all 67 counties take advantage of DOS assisted training in preparation for the November General Election.

Recruiting poll workers continues to be a problem. The League is encouraging our members to offer their services and other civic groups should be encouraged to do the same. Furthermore, school boards should allow qualified students to serve and such service should not be counted against attendance days.

Public education is also vitally important. Voters must be given every opportunity to avoid mistakes that would invalidate their votes. This means making sure voter information notices are clear and easy to understand; sample ballots and demonstration equipment are available at every precinct and that poll workers actively offer assistance – especially to first time voters; that absentee ballot materials include clear instructions on avoiding over and under votes; and that Judges of Election are attentive to making sure that provisional ballot materials are properly filled out and signed. The Department needs to determine why, in the Primary Election, 30% of the 2,480 provisional ballots cast were not counted and take measures in the General Election to avoid preventable errors. Also the criteria for counting a provisional ballot should be clarified. Voter eligibility rather than administrative convenience should be the test for counting each provisional ballot. A clear and easy to understand “Voters Bill of Rights” covering all aspects of the conduct of elections on Election Day should be posted in every precinct.

Physical accessibility of every polling place is imperative and should be a goal for 2004. Where accessibility has not been provided, procedures for making alternative ballots available need to be clearly outlined and understood.

Communication to resolve Election Day problems and dispense voter information is also important. Many groups have or are planning to set up hotlines. It is also important that county election offices have adequate phones and staff to resolve questions and that officials in each precinct have access to a telephone.

To vote in Pennsylvania it is necessary to be registered. Many groups are conducting extensive voter registration drives and the State Plan outlines an ambitious plan for public education and outreach including getting various government agencies to be more proactive in distributing voter education materials. This should also include private agencies that contract to deliver government services. Boards of election should do their part by making every effort to obtain missing information that would otherwise invalidate a mail-in application and ample notification to the applicant if the form is rejected for any reason.

Long range the Commonwealth faces the task of bringing all county voting systems into compliance with HAVA requirements including replacing thousands of lever voting machines and insuring that at least one machine in each of nearly 9500 precincts is accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Department has set a goal of having each county procure a single HAVA compliant voting system that can be used by all voters, including individuals with disabilities. Given the complexity of the task, the controversies surrounding existing electronic systems, the continued absence of updated federal guidelines, and the ongoing evolution of voting technology, the federally mandated goal of January 1, 2006 is ambitious and the potential for making expensive mistakes is great.

In order to ensure integrity and voter confidence in elections, the League supports the implementation of voting systems and procedures that are secure, accurate, recountable, and accessible. The League neither supports nor opposes any type of technology per se, such as Direct Recording Electronic voting machines (DREs) or Voter Verified Paper Trails (VVPTs).

Whatever system is adopted, it is important that we all understand that the equipment used to cast votes is only one part of a complex system that involves more than equipment and the associated structure and procedures connected with the their security and accuracy. Enhancing the right to vote means addressing all those aspects of a complex election system we have outlined above.

The League continues to believe that using the provisional ballot as a voter registration form should be a goal, even if this means legislative changes to simplify the provisional ballot form.

We are pleased to note that starting with the end of this year the Department will prepare an annual progress report. We recommend that this report go beyond the requirements under HAVA and address any problems identified as needing administrative or legislative action.

Finally, the League will continue to do its part to encourage full federal funding as authorized under HAVA.

Again, thank you for this opportunity to present our views.