Corman announces plans to establish committee to review Pennsylvania’s 2020 election
Pennsylvania Senate Pro Tempore Jake Corman announced plans Monday to establish a bipartisan special committee to conduct an “exhaustive review” of the November election.
Corman, R-Benner Township, said in a statement that he will introduce a resolution to create the “Special Committee on Election Integrity and Reform” with four Democrat and four Republican members.
Though there have been no reports of widespread voter fraud or misconduct, he said there are “very legitimate and credible” issues surrounding the election and the committee will focus on issues including security, accuracy and uniformity of election processes across the state.
“Nothing is more important than our right to vote as well as ensuring Pennsylvanians’ confidence in our elections,” Corman said in a statement Monday. “Every senator has heard concerns from our constituents about the 2020 election. Far too many residents of Pennsylvania are questioning the validity of their votes or have doubt that the process was conducted fairly, securely and produced accurate results. We must act to ensure integrity is restored to voting through this bipartisan effort.”
State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, said Monday that the response from Republicans stems from a “lack of understanding” in the democratic process.
Rather than focus on the 2020 election, Conklin said lawmakers should spend their time working to help people in need now and plan to volunteer in future election cycles to better understand how elections operate.
“I think what’s important now is that we are in such a budget deficit that every penny we waste could still be used to help feed families,” Conklin said, outlining steps elections staff take to ensure the process is safe, secure and balanced. “If this helps them understand the election process, all I can say is yeah, let’s do it. But if this is nothing more than a political stunt, it’s a shame to democracy.”
Centre County Commissioner Michael Pipe does not think the committee will find a lack of security. Instead, he thinks its findings will call attention to gaps and shortcomings in Act 77 — a bipartisan piece of legislation that passed historic election reform in 2019.
“They’re going to find where they failed and where they left too many blanks in the legislation,” Pipe said. “They will find they did not expand enough on what they needed to do in order to establish some uniform practices across the state.”
Pipe added that he hopes lawmakers realize the decision not to allow early precanvassing affected the timeliness of ballot counting.
Corman, along with other Republican lawmakers, have called for Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar’s resignation, saying she “fundamentally altered the manner in which Pennsylvania’s election was conducted.” Because of their actions and outspokenness, Pipe said the committee will also have to work to be open and transparent.
If not, their actions will continue to cast doubt on future elections, Pipe added.
“I hope they have an open perspective,” Pipe said. “If their focus is just to try to slander the secretary of state, slander certain counties where they didn’t agree with the results, it’s basically a self-fulfilled prophecy and a waste of time. They passed a piece of legislation that was incomplete.”
With Corman serving as an ex-officio member, the committee will be comprised of Republican Senators Wayne Langerholc, Ryan Aument, Lisa Baker and Mike Regan. In consultation with Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, Corman will also appoint four Democratic senators to sit on the committee.
The review will be also look into the role of the judiciary and Boockvar on the election. A final report will be presented to the General Assembly and will cover areas of legislative recommendations.
