A group of former Pennsylvania lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have come together to preserve, protect, and defend America’s Democracy and assure us that the upcoming election is safe.
A poll recently commissioned by the Democracy Defense Project Pennsylvania Board found that a majority of Pennsylvanians are concerned about the integrity of November’s election.
Conducted by National Research Inc. from Sept. 22-27, with a sample of 600 likely voters and a margin of error of 4%, the poll found 71% of respondents expressed concern that voting irregularities might call this year’s results into question, regardless of their trust levels in the 2020 election.
[Be sure to check out Postindustrial's conversation with the Democracy Defense Project]
The Democracy Defense Project was created specifically to address concerns about the overall validity of the voting process so that all voters, no matter who they vote for, can trust the integrity of the electoral system.
This bipartisan group is dedicated to bringing our election process into the open for the public to see – from voter registration to vote tabulation – so that any attempts to subvert the process or mislead voters can be quashed.
Voters believe that social media apps, 93% of respondents, and cable news networks, 88% of respondents, are the biggest threats to democracy.
According to the poll respondents, the three biggest threats to election integrity are misinformation created by artificial intelligence, media organizations suppressing some stories while distorting others, and foreign adversaries spreading propaganda to influence U.S. elections.
Voters across the board believe that allowing bipartisan oversight of all election results is the best way to increase confidence in our election system. Republicans are nearly unanimous in their belief that the best way to do that would be requiring voters to show ID to vote and not allowing any ballots postmarked after election day to be counted.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that identifying messages from foreign adversaries and informing voters about them is the best way to restore confidence.
Since the board’s inception, we have advocated for the allowance of mail-in ballot pre-canvassing to begin prior to election day. Our poll asked the likely voters their thoughts on this, and 63% of respondents believe that Pennsylvania should allow the pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots before Election Day so that they can be reported quickly on Election Night.
We have been seeking to elevate opportunities to further strengthen and build trust in Pennsylvania’s election system. Pre-canvassing would significantly expedite the availability of election results and lighten the pressure placed on our county election officials.
There is still time for the legislature to act to allow canvassing to begin before this Election Day. The county officials who supervise the election and must certify the count are almost unanimously in favor of this change being made this year. The legislature should make this change immediately.
Pennsylvania is one of only seven states that does not even allow mail-in ballots to be opened and prepared for the machine count prior to Election Day.
Mail-in voting has significantly expanded access to the polls for many voters, but counties need more time to undertake the time-consuming process of tallying this increased volume of ballots. Pennsylvania is a critical state in this election, and allowing pre-canvassing would be a big boost in keeping the public’s confidence in the integrity of our electoral process.
