Harrisburg – Senate State Government Committee Chair Senator John DiSanto (Dauphin/Perry) reported on an informative public hearing held today on issues related to holding the 2020 Primary Election during the continued COVID-19 restrictions and guidance put in place to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians.
“These are obviously trying times and we need to ensure our upcoming elections operate as smoothly as possible under the circumstances,” said DiSanto. “We will use the information and feedback we received today, from state, county and party officials, in ongoing legislative conversations about the potential need for additional changes to our election laws to make sure both voters and poll workers are safe and that our elections are secure and accurate.”
Appearing before the Committee were Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, Deputy Secretary Jonathan Marks, a national expert on elections and redistricting, county elections officials from across the Commonwealth, and the state party chairs of the Democratic and Republican Parties of Pennsylvania.
DiSanto supported efforts last month to move Pennsylvania’s 2020 Primary Election to June 2 while giving counties more flexibility to run safe, accurate, and secure elections during this unprecedented time. DiSanto said, “Based on what we heard at the hearing today, it’s clear that two commonly discussed options, moving to all mail-in ballots and further delaying the primary from June 2, would come with their own set of challenges, complexity and confusion that would need to be addressed.”
The hearing of the Senate State Government Committee can be viewed in its entirety on Senator DiSanto’s website at www.senatordisanto.com. DiSanto also encourages all community residents to check his Facebook/Twitter using @SenatorDiSanto for further reports, information, and periodic updates on these important issues.
CONTACT: Chuck Erdman cerdman@pasen.gov (717) 787-6801