A federal law suit seeking redress against the Chester County Election Board for practices that resulted in unconscionably long lines and as much as a day-long wait to vote at a poll near Lincoln University back in the November 08 election has - thankfully - put election administration back in the spotlight for a minor media moment.  The Inquirer recently ran a piece by columnist Mark Bowden on the incident entitled "Indefensible."   Why not tell The Inquirer at inquirer.letters@phillynews.com that the issue is much bigger than one egregious precinct in Chester County?

Last week seems to have been "take-off" time for the movement for national campaign finance reform in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United  corporate "free speech" decision.  Here's a quick run-down.

And they undoubtedly glanced over Pennsylvania's recent state budget fiasco.  Last year the interests that blocked adequate revenue from reaching the state's coffers were many, but they all had one thing in common: big bucks "invested" politically.  Want to tax the natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale?  You say it's a no-brainer from a policy perspective.  Sorry.  Governor Rendell backed away and the legislature ran for cover – maybe next year.  The gas industry recently showered state senate leaders with more than $200,000 in campaign contributions and the governor was rewarded, too (all before the fact) . 

This past election day (Nov. 3, 09) voters avoided the polls in droves, yet there were the usual procedural problems and occasional confusion in an otherwise lackluster voting day.     
 
Only 25 percent of eligible voters turned out in Montgomery County, but that compared favorably with Philadelphia’s abysmal turnout of 12 percent and the statewide figure of 20 percent.  While the 2005 municipal election also generated a countywide turnout in Montco of 25 percent, that election lacked the high court races that were supposed to drive voter participation this time around.

There went the judges.  They were all over the ballot last Tuesday – Pennsylvania Supreme Court (one seat), Superior Court (four seats), Commonwealth Court (two seats), Court of Common Pleas (in Montco, seven races).  Then there are the “retentions” (one for Superior Court and one for Commonwealth Court; the ballot for local judges varies, depending on your county).   Picking judges is a pretty ho-hum affair, but not this year, when two juvenile court justices in Luzerne County put the workings of the judiciary on trial.  Yet voter turnout was still barely visible at 20 percent statewide.  Why?  The problem goes way beyond an apathetic electorate.

Background:

There is no single factor that undermines our democracy more than the influence of big money. Curbs should be put in place, not because our candidates and officials lack integrity, but because the race for campaign cash forces priorities and practices within our system of elections that collide with the very essence of democracy.

The Election Reform Network presented the dark side of Election Day administration at a meeting of the Montco Board of Commissioners on September 17.  Appropriately enough, it was Constitution Day. 

Five citizen advocates described a series of incidents and practices that occurred last November 4 at the polls across Montgomery County.  We read a legal affidavit from a poll watcher/attorney describing intimidation at the polls and eyewitness testimony to a senseless incident of a legitimate vote being purposely canceled by a judge of elections.  We presented eyewitness testimony of unlawful and unjust policies on provisional and emergency paper ballots and voter ID requirements.

For far too many voters, as their hotline calls attest, voting is a frustration-filled, even confrontational process where well-meaning, eligible citizens are being denied the legal right to vote.

“Yes, my name is Clinton [J.], and my wife, Madelyn [J.], here in Royersford, Pennsylvania is not registered. Now, she voted in the last presidential election in 2004 and, for some reason, her name did not appear on this list here in Royersford. So I’m just wondering exactly what the deal is. We did check online before the end of voter registration and she was registered, but now she’s not registered.” Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

The lush blue carpet was rolled out magisterially last week for Arlen Specter by top Democrats, as the five - term senator announced that he was switching parties.  Specter finally took the plunge after reading some cruel polling data, but it didn't hurt that his old friend and fundraiser extraordinaire Governor Ed Rendell and Vice President Joe Biden had been cajoling him for months to come on over.  Or that the President was so "thrilled" to have Arlen on his team (so were the Eagles when they first got Terrell Owens) that he promptly offered "my full support" in the Democratic primary (more on that below). 

With the specter of political stalemate on top priority issues like health care intruding on Washington these days, here's a welcome antidote: the Fair Elections Now Act. 

Pressed by our friends at the Public Campaign Action Fund and a growing coalition of national organizations, the Act would change the way congressional campaigns are financed