HARRISBURG – Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Bellefonte) issued the following statement today after passage of two bills to help restore integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections:
“We cannot claim to have free and fair elections when we know a large number of ballots are being cast illegally with the financial backing of partisan interests. Lawmakers have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and ensure fair and equal representation for our citizens. Although we still have work to do to reach this goal, these bills bring us closer to making this mission a reality.
“People who are falsely claiming these bills somehow infringe on the rights of Pennsylvanians are dead wrong. Preventing the use of unsecured drop boxes – which the Legislature never authorized in the first place – does not diminish opportunities for Pennsylvanians to participate in our elections whatsoever.
“The testimony and evidence we have gathered during our election investigation played a key role in passage of this legislation, including earning bipartisan support for the elimination of private funding for our elections. These measures clearly validate the careful and thoughtful approach we have taken to restoring election integrity. This is what meaningful action on election integrity should look like — real results, not grandstanding and empty rhetoric.
“Nothing is more important than upholding our election system, so I hope these bills will earn bipartisan support. However, if Governor Wolf threatens a veto of either of these bills, rest assured that I will do everything in my power under the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution to provide this necessary level of security of our election process.”
CONTACT: Jason Thompson