Oct. 05, 2023
HARRISBURG – In response to hastily conceived legislation by House Democrats to majorly alter Pennsylvania elections, the York County delegation of House Republicans, which consists of Appropriations Chairman Seth Grove (R-Dover) and Reps. Kate Klunk (R-Hanover), Mike Jones (R-York Township) Joe D’Orsie (R-Manchester) Wendy Fink (R-Red Lion) and Dawn Keefer (R-Dillsburg), issued the following statement:
“As the calendar pushes toward mid-October, House Democrats attempted in unprecedented fashion to significantly alter election law in Pennsylvania under the cover of darkness. It is a move local election officials and voters alike collectively denounce.
“Just a few minutes to midnight on Wednesday, the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee advanced a comprehensive, never-before-seen amendment to an Election Code bill. This measure was brought before the committee with no time for review and a House vote was forced on members less than 12 hours later. Not only were members denied the time to read the bill themselves, but they were robbed of the ability to vet the proposal with their local election officials and voters.
“The bill was problematic on every conceivable level and would have been effective immediately if it became law. The complete lack of time would have put election officials in an impossible situation to implement last-minute changes. The establishment of lifetime mail-in voting would have resulted in voters applying for a mail-in ballot in one election cycle being forced to vote by mail in perpetuity with little option to vote in-person at the polls.
“Ultimately,
Senate Bill 224 failed in the House but the late-night wrangling by House Democrats reinforces a manipulative plan to make major policy changes while Pennsylvanians are asleep.
“While the bill did include a watered-down version of voter identification requirement, the proposed changes to election processes and procedures, as written, would have disenfranchised millions of in-person voters and there was no way, in good conscience, we could support the bill. The proposed bill was so egregious even many of our colleagues on the other side of aisle stuck with the Republican delegation in opposition of the bill. This is yet another stop in the Democrats’ sequence of deception, dysfunction and disservice to Pennsylvanians. House Democrats are months past due on the budget, unable to find bipartisan consensus and are alienating at least half of the state in an attempt to maintain power.”
York County Republican Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com