Background

Elections are the cornerstone of democracy. Citizens in Pennsylvania and across the United States recognize the need to improve our system of elections in order to strengthen citizen trust and, ultimately, reinvigorate and protect our democracy.

The Election Reform Network, a citizens organization based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which works in partnership with allies throughout Pennsylvania and the nation, has crafted a simple non-partisan pledge for candidates for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2008 (see below). It offers all candidates the opportunity to go on record in support of three vital areas of election reform: the recording and counting of votes; the financing of political campaigns; and the process of redistricting of congressional and state legislative seats.

Candidate Pledge

If elected, I pledge to strengthen the capacity of "we the people" of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to govern by actively advocating for legislation to improve our system of elections, which will:

§ Allow voters to verify their ballot choices directly and require that ballots are auditable and recountable, done independently of computer software, consistent with the rights of the disabled. This would include establishing a feasible process of statistically sound audits of votes* to strengthen the integrity of elections and restore voter trust;

§ Establish meaningful limits on campaign contributions for all public offices and create either a permanent system or pilot program of public financing of state and local election campaigns;**

§ Reform the decennial congressional and state legislative redistricting process to end the "gerrymandering" of legislative districts, which breeds political cynicism and undermines the integrity of local governments, school districts and communities of interest by failing to respect legitimate boundaries.

* New Jersey, Minnesota and other states have already passed such laws

** Arizona, Connecticut and Maine have adopted such laws, while New Jersey has a successful pilot program.