Something's Rotten: Pennsylvania's Shameful Record of Voter Suppression and The Partisan and Sometimes Racially Charged Motivations of Those Administering Its Elections

Executive Summary
In Pennsylvania, political figuresfrom statewide elected officials and state legislators to

county commissionershave introduced voter suppression policies that make it increasingly
difficult for minority voters to exercise their rights to vote. The motivation behind these efforts
often has been admittedly partisan with some officials expressing the political benefit of
restricting access to the ballot.

The partisan motivations behind efforts in Pennsylvania to suppress the vote received
nationwide media attention during the summer leading up to the 2012 presidential election
when the states then house majority leader Mike Turzai bragged at a Republican meeting that
the Keystone States new voter ID law was going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of
Pennsylvania.

Research has shown that voter suppression policies, such as forcing residents to show
identification before casting a ballot and requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in
order to register to vote, disproportionately affect minority voters, senior citizens, the disabled,
and low-income voters.

While politicians tout voter fraud as the rationale behind such restrictive policies, in reality
there is no evidence of widespread fraudulent voting taking place in Pennsylvania or in any
other state. Even while defending its controversial voter ID law in court, the state could not
point to one instance of voter fraud. However, Pennsylvania officials who advocate for voter
suppression policies have expressed political motivations for disenfranchising voters who are
more likely to vote Democratic.

Voter suppression policies have been and continue to be introduced by Pennsylvania
legislators, who, after multiple attempts, passed a controversial voter ID bill in 2012 that was
signed into law by former Governor Tom Corbett. The voter ID lawwhich Republican officials
admitted was passed for political reasonswas eventually struck down in 2014 after a messy
implementation period.

This report examines recent voter suppression initiatives in Pennsylvania to shed light on the
players behind these efforts and the problematic partisan motivations that shape their
decisions. It focuses on the state legislators who have been integral in pushing voter
suppression policies, as well as the partisan and racially charged rhetoric that these officials
sometimes use. It also scrutinizes county officials who have disenfranchised voters at the local
level. Additionally, this report examines influential voter suppression groups with strong
partisan ties currently working in Pennsylvania to disenfranchise minority voters. This report
aims to provide an overview of current voter suppression issues in Pennsylvania, as well as the
political actors behind them, in order to combat ongoing attacks on voting rights in the
Keystone State.

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 1
Voter Suppression in Pennsylvania

Voter Restrictions in Pennsylvania

Voter Identification Requirements

Pennsylvanians are not currently required to show an ID each time they vote. They are,
however, required to show valid identificationphoto or non-photowhen they vote for the
first time in an election district. 1

Accepted forms of photo identification include:
Pennsylvania Drivers License or PennDOT ID Card
ID Issued by any Commonwealth Agency
ID Issued by the U.S. Government
U.S. Passport
U.S. Armed Forces ID
Student ID
Employee ID

Accepted forms of non-photo identification include:
Voter Registration Card Issued by the County Voter Registration Office
Non-Photo ID issued by the Commonwealth
Non-Photo ID issued by the U.S. Government
Non-Photo ID issued by Any Agency of the Commonwealth or U.S. Government
Firearm Permit
Current Utility Bill
Current Bank Statement
Paycheck
Government Check

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a strict law in 2012 requiring voters to show a
photo ID in order to vote. The law, however, was never fully implemented and was struck down
in 2014.

It should be noted that photo ID laws have been shown to disproportionately affect minority,
elderly, disabled, and low-income voters, all of whom face greater obstacles obtaining
identification. A study conducted by political scientists at the University of California at San
Diego analyzed voter turnout between 2008 and 2012 and found substantial drops in turnout
for minorities under strict voter ID laws. Obtaining a photo ID can be costly and the
bureaucratic process can be especially difficult for low-income and elderly voters who may not
have birth certificates because they were born at home instead of in a hospital.2 In fact, more
than 21 million Americans do not have government-issued photo identification [and] a

disproportionate number of [them] are low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, and elderly
voters.3

Election Administration Issues

Absentee Voting in Pennsylvania

When Pennsylvania passed its controversial voter ID law in 2012, several county elections
officials responded to voter concerns by suggesting that voters without valid IDs simply cast
absentee ballots. However, unlike many states, Pennsylvania does not have no-excuse absentee
voting.4 To apply for an absentee ballot, voters must attest that they are unable to vote inperson on Election Day, and must choose from a list of accepted reasons why they are
requesting an absentee ballot.5

Early Voting in Pennsylvania

Although thirty-seven states in the country offer some kind of early voting, Pennsylvania offers
no period of early voting whatsoever.6 Early voting, especially Sunday voting, has been shown
to make voting more accessible, particularly for minority voters. In states with early voting,
minority voters have utilized it at greater rates than white voters.7

Early voting measures repeatedly have been introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature but
have yet to pass. In 2015, at least three measures to establish early voting in the state were
introduced. In 2013, Rep. Mike Schlossberg introduced a bill that would establish early voting,
pointing out that, Pennsylvania makes it as hard as possible for you to vote.8 An editorial in
the Scranton Times-Tribune praised the effort, noting that it would help older people who
cant wait in line on Election Day due to health reasons, workers who must juggle their
schedules to vote, students and untold others with variable schedules.9

Purging the Voter Rolls

Under Pennsylvania law, inactive voters (registered voters who have not voted for five
consecutive years) will be purged from the voter rolls if they do not vote in either of the next
two federal elections, or if they fail to contact their voter registration office during that time.10

To make purging the voter rolls easier, Pennsylvania participates in the Interstate Crosscheck
program, managed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an anti-immigration activist
notorious for promoting voter suppression policies across the country. Crosscheck is a master
list of almost seven million potential double voters that has been criticized as highly
inaccurate. Upon joining Crosscheck in 2013, former secretary of the commonwealth Carol
Aichele called the program an important tool to make sure only legally registered individuals
vote.11


Crosscheck consolidates voter information from participating states for cross-reference with
the goal of identifying voters who may be voting illegally in multiple states. The program,
however, has been criticized for its inaccuracy after flagging millions of mismatched potential
double-voters. The program often flags voters based on only first and last names, ignoring
middle names, suffixes, and birthdates. In cases where voter information includes the last four
digits of their Social Security numbers, those numbers are purposely ignored, increasing the
number of erroneous matches. Critics of the program also have noted that Crosscheck flags
minority voters at disproportionate rates.12

Crosschecks standard bearer, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, has ties to Pennsylvania.
The lawyer and anti-immigration activist helped craft and defend an ordinance passed in the
City of Hazleton that fined landlords $1,000 a day for renting to undocumented immigrants and
revoked the business permits of employers who hired them.13 Hazleton is located in Luzerne
County which has faced its own voter suppression issues over the years. In the 2012 general
election, Luzerne County poll workers improperly turned away from the polls more than twenty
registered voters and the county Board of Elections rejected 283 provisional ballots.14
Pennsylvanias Controversial Voter ID Efforts

Although Pennsylvania voters are currently required to show identification at the polls when
first-time voting in an election district, Pennsylvania passed an even stricter voter ID law in
2012 requiring voters show an accepted photo ID in order to vote. The bill, which Republican
officials admitted was politically motivated, faced a rocky implementation process and was
ultimately struck down by a state judge in 2014.

Controversial Voter ID Bill Signed into Law in 2012

In March 2012 former governor Tom Corbett signed into law a voter ID bill that was widely
criticized as a tactic to disenfranchise minority voters in Pennsylvania. The law, which the
Associated Press described as one of the nations toughest voter ID laws, at the time,
required voters to show a photo ID before being allowed to cast their ballots.15

The bill was introduced by controversial State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe. Even after the bill faced
legal defeat, Metcalfe said that he would continue advocating for voter photo identification
and other measures to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised by the forces of
corruption.16

Under the law, many government employee photo IDs would be acceptable, as would student
IDs from colleges and universities in Pennsylvania and IDs for people who live in elder-care
institutions in the state, as long as they show a name, photo and expiration date that makes
them current.17


Although the voter ID law was eventually overturned, Republicans in the Pennsylvania General
Assembly have repeatedly introduced strict voter ID bills, both before and after the failed 2012
law. Even since the voter ID law was overturned, new voter ID laws have been introduced in the
legislature.
Criticism of the 2012 Voter ID Law

Pennsylvanias voter ID law was widely opposed by a range of groups in the state, including
unions, counties, civil liberties advocates, good government advocates, the AARP, and the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.18 Opponents of the law argued
that it would disenfranchise minority, low-income, and elderly voters, who sometimes lack
photo IDs and the documents, such as birth certificates, to obtain them. They also pointed to
the difficult, bureaucratic process of obtaining an ID for low-income, elderly, and disabled
voters.19

Pennsylvanias substantial Amish and Mennonite population, many of whom have religious
objections to being photographed, also faced problems with the states voter ID law, due to the
multiple and intrusive forms required to obtain an accepted non-photo ID for religious
reasons.20

Although former Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele repeatedly asserted that 99
percent of Pennsylvania voters already had a required photo ID to vote, after the bill was signed
into law, the Pennsylvania Department of State released data that showed that over 758,000
registered votersor 9.2 percent of votersdid not have photo IDs from the Department of
Transportation.21

Partisan Motivations Behind the 2012 Voter ID Law

The voter ID law was criticized for being introduced for the partisan purpose of helping
Republicans in Pennsylvanias competitive presidential elections. The bill passed the state
legislature largely along party lines, with every Democrat in the Pennsylvania Senate, along with
three Republicans, voting against it.22

Several Pennsylvania Republicans credited the voter ID law for helping their party in the 2012
presidential election. Although supporters of voter ID cited potential voter fraud as the
motivation behind the law, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could not point to a single
instance of voter fraud while later defending the law in court.23

The summer before the election Rep. Mike Turzai, then the Pennsylvania house majority leader,
bragged at a Republican meeting that the states new voter ID law is going to allow Governor
Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. Turzais comments made it onto YouTube and were
roundly criticized by Democratic legislators, who pointed to the statement as evidence of the
partisan motivations behind the voter ID law.24


Mr. Turzais statement is the smoking gun, said State Sen. Daylin Leach at a press conference
held by a group of Democratic legislators. This was not about stopping any voter fraud. This
was part of a national effort by the Republican Party to pass laws disenfranchising large
numbers of voters who tend to vote Democratic.25

After the 2012 election, Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason credited the
voter ID law for helping Romney in the states presidential election. When asked if he thought
the voter ID law had helped his party, Gleason responded, Yeah, I think a little bit. We
probably had a better election. Think about this, we cut Obama by 5 percent, which was big. A
lot of people lost sight of that. He won, he beat McCain by 10 percent, he only beat Romney by
5 percent. I think that probably Voter ID had helped a bit in that.26

Rocky Rollout and Failed Implementation

Pennsylvanias strict voter ID legislation was signed into law in March 2012, but in October of
the same year a judge ruled the law could not take effect for the following months election.
Although it was never technically enforced, the implementation process of the voter ID law was
so long and misleading that it disenfranchised voters all the same before being repealed in
2014.

Expensive and Misleading Media Campaign

After signing the bill into law, Governor Tom Corbetts administration signed a nearly $250,000
contract with the Bravo Group, run by Republican fundraiser and former Pennsylvania GOP
Executive Director Chris Bravacos, to educate voters about the new voter ID law through a
media campaign.27

The state continued to run ads on voter ID as part of the soft roll-out, even after a judge
blocked enforcement of the law in October 2012, ahead of the November election. The media
campaign technically adjusted its message after the ruling, adding in smaller print, This
Election Day if you have it to the ad campaign picturing a Pennsylvania drivers license with the
tagline, Show It. However, Witold Walczak, the legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, called
the ads incredibly misleading. He asserted, Theres no question in my mind that it's going to
promote confusion and it's going to lead to people who have every right to vote staying home
because they don't have ID.28

As part of their challenge to the voter ID law, a group of voting rights organizations had asked a
judge to order Pennsylvania officials to stop distributing false and misleading information about
the requirement of voter ID in the upcoming 2012 election. The groups noted that thousands of
senior citizens had received an official state mailing declaring that photo identification was
required on Election Day, and that some Pennsylvania Department of Transportation locations
were displaying outdated posters stating that photo ID was required in order to vote. The
radio silence from the commonwealth about the abrupt change in voting requirements . . . and
the failure to affirmatively correct six months of what is now false information about the need

to have photo ID on Nov. 6 is indefensible, and reasonably likely to disenfranchise voters
without photo ID who have been led to believe they cannot vote and thus are likely not to
bother trying, the groups said in their filing.29

As the voter ID law remained tied up in the courts, Pennsylvanias Auditor General Eugene
DePasquale, in October 2013, called the states plan to run additional television TV ads, for an
additional $1 million, a waste of money.30 In their efforts to implement the controversial voter
ID requirement, Pennsylvania spent $5 million in federal funds received under the Help America
Vote Act, and $1 million in state funds to educate voters on the law.31

Other Voter Misinformation

Additional examples of the distribution of inaccurate information to voters were reported
leading up to the 2012 election. A mailing to thirty-four thousand retired Philadelphia city
workers, for example, stated inaccurately that voters were required to show a photo ID to vote.
Brian Abernathy, chief of staff to the citys managing director, defended the decision to send
the inaccurate mailing: We wanted to encourage people to get the ID if they needed it, he
said. Do we do the mailing and take a risk, or do we lose the opportunity to reach a large
number of people who would be impacted? We decided that more information for voters was
better. . . . It was a conscious decision to take the risk.32

In an even more pervasive dissemination of misinformation, PECO, Pennsylvanias largest utility
company, sent a newsletter to 1.3 million customers advising them that they would need to
present a valid photo ID in order to vote in the upcoming election, which customers received
after the court ruled that the law would not be in effect. PECO blamed the print and mailing
time of the newsletter for the error.33

Confusion Among Pennsylvania Officials Led to More Voter Suppression

The voter ID law spent nearly two years in relative limbo. Photo IDs were never technically
required to vote in any Pennsylvania elections, but the state circulated ambiguous to downright
misleading information about the law for almost two years.

The Advancement Project released a report that found that the voter ID requirement could
prevent nearly one in six Latino voters in Pennsylvania from voting. One of the major problems,
the group noted, was that Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) staff had not
been properly trained to process voter IDs. Miguel Concepcion, chairman of the Philadelphia
chapter of the National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights, stated, Whether or not you get voter
ID depends on what [PennDOT] office you visit and what day of the week you go.34

On Election Day in 2012, poll workers around the state were instructed to ask for photo IDs but
to allow eligible voters to vote even without one, as the law was not in effect. But polling places
in Montgomery, Delaware, Butler, and Crawford Counties, for example, posted signs that said
voters were required to show photo ID at the polls. More troubling, voters in Philadelphia, as

well as Montgomery and Delaware Counties, reported that they were forced to cast provisional
ballots when they did not show an ID.35

Legal Challenge and Eventual Voting Rights Victory

Pennsylvanias strict voter ID law faced a long legal challenge that eventually led to it being
struck down in January 2014. Less than two months after Governor Tom Corbett signed the bill
into law, a group of ten registered voters, represented by voting and civil rights groups,
including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, filed a lawsuit challenging the voter ID
law, arguing that it violated the states constitution.

Many otherwise qualified voters will face great difficulty or be unable to obtain the necessary
ID and will therefore be disenfranchised in the upcoming general election and future elections,
the lawsuit argued. As a result, far from protecting the integrity of Pennsylvania elections, the
photo ID law will lead to elections that are no longer free and equal.36

Voter ID Blocked from Taking Effect in 2012 Election

In August 2012, Judge Robert E. Simpson, Jr. a Republican who had just been elected to a tenyear term on the Commonwealth Court, ruled against the plaintiffs challenging the voter ID
law.37 Simpson decided that the plaintiffs failed to establish that disenfranchisement was
immediate or inevitable and found that halting the process now would interfere with election
machinery now [sic] in motion to prepare for the Nov. 6 vote.38

Simpsons ruling was swiftly appealed by opponents of the voter ID law. In a filing with the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the plaintiffs argued that the lower court decision had applied the
wrong legal standard while assessing the potential harm of the law.39

Only seven weeks before the November 2012 election, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued
a divided decision, ordering Judge Simpson, who had previously upheld the voter ID law, to
decide whether the state was in fact providing liberal access to photo ID cards, as intended by
the legislature.

One of the two jurists who dissented in the 4-2 decision, Justice Seamus McCaffery,
acknowledged the partisan motivations for hurrying to implement the voter ID law before the
2012 presidential election, even pointing to Rep. Mike Turzais statement that it would help
Mitt Romney carry the state. McCaffery wrote, It is clear to me that the reason for the urgency
of implementing Act 18 prior to the November 2012 election is purely political.40

Voting rights advocates achieved a temporary victory with Judge Simpsons second ruling on
the voter ID bill. The court upheld the law but blocked it from taking full effect for the 2012
presidential election. Instead, the election would be like the earlier April primary, when voters
were asked to show a photo ID, but were allowed to vote without one. While the decision was

largely praised by voting rights advocates, one attorney for the plaintiffs noted that the decision
could cause confusion on Election Day, which turned out to be true.41

Voter ID Struck Down in Pennsylvania

The legal challenge to Pennsylvanias voter ID law continued even after the 2012 presidential
election. After agreeing that the law still would not apply to the upcoming 2013 primaries,
Judge Simpson stepped down from the ongoing litigation, handing it over to his colleague,
Judge Bernard McGinley. McGinley barred the state from enforcing the law for the November
2013 election, also ruling that the state could not require elections officials to verbally inform
voters that IDs may be required to vote in future elections, although it could distribute written
materials on the law.42

Pennsylvanias voter ID law was finally struck down in January 2014, after almost two years of
hanging in virtual limbo, never officially being enforced but nonetheless causing confusion for
voters. In his decision, Judge McGinley ruled that the law imposed an unreasonable burden on
voters and that the state failed to demonstrate a need for it. As a constitutional prerequisite,
any voter ID law must contain a mechanism for ensuring liberal access to compliant photo IDs
so that the requirement . . . does not disenfranchise valid voters, Judge McGinley wrote in his
decision. Voting laws are designed to assure a free and fair election; the Voter ID Law does not
further this goal.43

After a denied request from his administration to reconsider the rule, Governor Tom Corbett
said he would not pursue an appeal in the case. In addition to the millions of dollars spent on
media and voter education, Pennsylvania spent at least $943,000 on legal fees defending the
law.44

Voter Suppression in the Pennsylvania State Legislature

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has been at the forefront of introducing voter suppression
policies in the state. Voter suppression advocates in the legislature paved the way for the voter
ID bill that was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett in 2012. Several Pennsylvania
legislators, highlighted here, have advocated for controversial policies in the state that make it
harder for many residents to vote.

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe is a vocal supporter of voter suppression policies in the
Pennsylvania House. Beyond introducing the voter ID bill signed into law in 2012, Metcalfe is a
far-right Republican who regularly uses offensive anti-immigrant rhetoric on social media and
even has ties to white supremacists.


Metcalfe introduced the voter ID bill signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett in 2012, who
said that the law. Even after the bill faced legal defeat, Metcalfe said that he would continue
advocating for voter photo identification and other measures to ensure that voters are not
disenfranchised by the forces of corruption.45 Previous to the failed voter ID law of 2012,
Metcalfe had introduced an equally strict voter ID bill several years earlier, in 2008.46

When the 2012 law was challenged by Pennsylvanians who argued that the bureaucratic
processes for obtaining an accepted photo ID were too onerous, Metcalfe dismissed their
concerns, characterizing those who are unable to get a photo ID as too lazy.47 When
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson ruled that Pennsylvania could not enforce the law
for the 2012 presidential election, Metcalfe called Simpson, a Republican, a judicial activist
whose decision was skewed in favor of the lazy. Metcalfe accused Simpson and Governor
Corbettwho allowed the state to develop a new type of identification for those who had
trouble getting other state IDsof supporting the ever-increasing entitlement mentality of
those individuals who have no problem living off the fruits of their neighbors labor.48

Metcalfe, who promotes himself as a modern-day Paul Revere who just may be the last
great hope for those of us who want our borders secured and our immigration laws enforced,
has made illegal immigration one of his primary issues in the legislature.49 He often uses highly
offensive language while discussing the subject and regularly refers to undocumented
immigrants as illegal alien invaders.50

Metcalfe supported Arizonas controversial S.B. 1070the 2010 papers, please law that was
widely criticized as a justification for racial profiling and the harassment of Latinos in Arizona,
and that was largely invalidated by lawsuits.51 He was such a fan of the legislation that he
introduced his own bill in 2010 modeled on S.B. 1070. Metcalfe said the purpose of his bill was
to offer every illegal alien residing in Pennsylvania two options, leave immediately or go to jail.
Whether you came to steal Pennsylvania jobs or to leech off of our states fraud-ridden, close
your eyes and verify welfare system, once this law is enacted there will be absolutely no
economic incentives for you to remain here.52

Metcalfe repeatedly introduced bills that would establish English as the official language of
Pennsylvania. Before his 2015 attempt, Metcalfe posted on Facebook, Tomorrow, I will
convene a hearing of the PA House State Government Committee to consider legislation to
make English the official language of the Commonwealth. One common language unifies a
people which is the reason that liberals oppose English as our official language! The citizens of
our state and nation need to unify against those domestic and foreign enemies who are trying
to destroy the USA!!53

The hearing did not go smoothly, as Metcalfe was called out on the House floor for having
invited Robert Vandervoort, identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a past
and present leader of white nationalist groups. Metcalfe seemed to defend his invitation and
complained that the hearing was unfairly criticized in an e-mail from the SPLC, which identified
Vandervoort as an alleged white supremacist. Metcalfe noted that a white nationalist . . . is

quite a bit different than a white supremacist. Metcalfe added, To say somebody is a
nationalist and for the independence of their country and a patriot to defending their country is
a lot different than saying somebody is a racist. Metcalfe continued, For whoever said the
man was white to begin with, that person is a racist tying his skin color to his patriotism and
what he stands up for his country. It should be noted that the SPLC defines white nationalist
organizations as those that espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often
focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites.54

It was not the first time that Metcalfe had been tied to white supremacists. In 2008 he had
voted against a symbolic resolution recognizing the 60th annual convention of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community because, Muslims do not recognize Jesus Christ as God. Soon after this
vote he received a letter nominating him for the Christian National Soldier award by a group
identifying itself as the White Christian Nation. The letter thanked Mr. Metcalfe for standing
up against the Islamic Muslims, illegal immigrates [sic] and gays that have taken over our
country. Metcalfe issued a statement denouncing the organization, but later said he believed it
may have been a hoax by political opponents.55

While in the Pennsylvania House Rep. Metcalfe also opposed Domestic Violence Awareness
Month, calling it part of the homosexual agenda because it recognized male rape victims. He
opposed birthright citizenship, which he referred to as the exploitation of illegal alien babies
by illegals to gain access to our nations jobs and benefits. And he also fueled the birther
movement in 2011 by introducing a bill that would require candidates for office to provide
proof that the candidate is a natural born citizen.56

State Representative Mike Turzai

State Representative Mike Turzai, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House, made headlines in 2012
when he admitted the partisan motivations behind the states controversial voter ID law.

Turzai, a vocal supporter of the voter ID law, initially said that he thought of the suppressive law
as nonpartisan. Why would there be any backlash on that? he asked reporters. Everybody
thinks its common sense.57

He was captured on video saying, There has been continued evidence that in particular
precincts, theyre voting over 100 percent of the registered voters. And it has been established
with consistency people are still on the Pennsylvania rolls who have either deceased or moved.
Well, we have to make sure that its one person, one vote. Everybody who is a citizen of the
state of Pennsylvania has the right and the privilege to vote and should be afforded that
opportunity to vote. This is about enfranchisement. Turzai noted that other situations require
presenting ID, such as going to his gym, buying a bottle of wine, and buying spray-paint or
other toxic products.58

Several months later, however, Turzai bragged at a Republican meeting that the states new
voter ID law is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. Turzais

comments made it onto YouTube and were roundly criticized by Democratic legislators, who
pointed to the statement as evidence of the partisan motivations behind the voter ID law.59

Mr. Turzais statement is the smoking gun, said Sen. Daylin Leach at a press conference held
by a group Democratic legislators. This was not about stopping any voter fraud. This was part
of a national effort by the Republican Party to pass laws disenfranchising large numbers of
voters who tend to vote Democratic.60

Even Judge Simpson, a Republican, denounced the disturbing, tendentious statements by
House Majority Leader Michael Turzai when he rejected the challenge to the voter ID law in
August 2012. Factually, I decline to infer that other members of the General Assembly shared
the boastful views of Rep. Turzai without proof that other members were present at the time
the statements were made, Simpson wrote.61

State Representative Stephen Bloom

State Representative Stephen Bloom was a vocal supporter of the 2012 voter ID law, both to
the press and on social media. In one of his many tweets in support of the law, Bloom said, Do
you like having your vote diluted by fake voters? Me neither. Voter ID = voter protection,62
despite the fact that widespread voter fraud has been shown to be nearly nonexistent in
Pennsylvania or in any other state.

After the law was struck down, Bloom said he didnt understand the judges decision because
the point of the law was to make sure our elections are fair. He said he had trouble
understanding why the judge would find that simply requiring that voters demonstrate they are
who they say they are could not help to facilitate free and fair elections. Bloom added, Its
not over yet. The debate is going to continue on.63

Bloom is a highly partisan Republican who has supported the Tea Party movement. He praised
the Tea Party as being a healthy push for the Republican Party to get back its core values and
principles. Weve got to reverse course and rediscover our founding principles, Bloom said.
"Its time for Americans who are proud of our country to stand up and say so. Maybe thats
what the essence of the Tea Party is.64 In September 2009, Bloom traveled to Washington DC
for the Taxpayer March on Washington, a Tea Party rally hosted by the 9-12 Project (group
affiliated with Glenn Beck), Tea Party Patriots, and several other conservative organizations.65

Bloom has blamed President Obama for encouraging racial divisions in the country. He was
widely criticized for a tweet blaming President Obama for the Baltimore riots, which broke out
in response to the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died while in police custody. Bloom
tweeted, in response to the riots, When you preach a creed of resentment and envy, you reap
a harvest of division and destruction. Yes, Im talking to you, President Obama. In an interview,
Bloom elaborated, I believe the presidents rhetoric over the last six years has exacerbated
many of the tensions within our society and moved us farther away from genuine, mutual

respect. Bloom continued, My concern is that the overall tone of our American culture has
suffered under President Obamas divisive rhetoric.66

State Representative Will Tallman

State Representative Will Tallman has repeatedly supported voter ID in Pennsylvania. He cosponsored the 2012 voter ID bill that required a photo ID in order to cast a ballot. After the law
was struck down, Tallman introduced another bill that would require voters to show an ID at
the polls, although the list of accepted IDs was expanded to the one currently required for
voters who vote at new precincts, which includes several non-photo IDs.67

Tallman said that requiring voters to show identification at the polls is necessary to prevent
voter fraud. Voter fraud is happening in Pennsylvania and its fairly widespread, hes quoted
as saying.68

Those opposing voter ID are using the argument that there is no voter fraud, Tallman noted.
However, I myself know that there is. I have seen it with my own eyes.69 However, attorneys
for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could not point to a single instance of voter fraud while
defending the 2012 voter ID law in court.70

Tallman is a highly partisan elected official. At a Tea Party rally in 2010, he suggested a bizarre
conspiracy about a military team being assembled to deal with Tea Party members on Election
Day. Tallman told the crowd that he had heard on the radio that a contingency response
team composed of military personnel was being assembled to take care of any problems
during the election in November. Based on what you've seen on TV, who are they afraid of?
Tallman asked. The crowd responded, Us! Another person shouted, They better be!71

Tallman supported a proposed bill that would extend the enforcement of immigration policy to
state and local police. If they catch somebody in the normal course of their duty and they're
here illegally, they should be able to take care of the immigration law also.72 Additionally, he
repeatedly introduced legislation that would invalidate any federal regulations on firearms
through executive order, citing recent activity by President Barack Obama as the impetus for
his legislation.73

State Representative Dan Moul

State Representative Dan Moul has advocated for voter suppression policies in the
Pennsylvania legislature, including co-sponsoring the 2012 voter ID bill that required voters to
show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot.74

Even before the 2012 bill, however, Moul co-sponsored Rep. Daryl Metcalfes 2008 version of
voter ID legislation. Citing voter fraud as the reason that voter ID laws were necessary, Moul
argued that the legislation would ensure the integrity of our system of elections and make

sure that every vote counts and every vote is a legitimate vote.75 He also opposed allowing
early voting in Pennsylvania, fearing that it would make it easier to cast fraudulent votes: I
think Election Day should be Election Day. Maybe I'm a little old-fashioned, Moul said.76

Moul sponsored a bill in 2013 that would change the system by which Pennsylvanias twenty
electoral votes are awarded. The bill, which would have awarded only two electoral votes to
the presidential candidate who won statewide, would have divided the remaining eighteen
electoral votes based on congressional districts. The bill was criticized as a way for Pennsylvania
Republicans in the General Assembly to take advantage of the states gerrymandered districts
for political gain.77

In addition to supporting voter suppression policies that appear to be politically motivated,
Moul also angered minority lawmakers when, shortly after taking office, he questioned the
need for the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus after caucus members walked off the House
floor to protest inaction on gun violence. That's repulsive to me, Moul said. I'm insulted, and
I wish they would stop. Segregation ended forty to fifty years ago, and they need to leave it
back there. Moul added later, The way I was raised, I was taught that segregation and
discrimination is all in the past. Everyones equal and don't differentiate because of the color of
someones skin.78

Former Rep. Jewell Williams responded that the caucus exists to give minorities a collective
voice in the House, because they still are not always treated fairly, stating bluntly of Moul, I
think hes insensitive and probably needs to go to cultural-sensitivity training class. Moul stood
by his comments, saying, I think people appreciate the fact that if I have something to say, I
say it. He continued, I might hurt a feeling or two along the way, but I say it exactly as I see
it.79

Pennsylvanias Local Election Officials

On The Front Lines of Voter Suppression

In Pennsylvania counties, boards of elections are responsible for administering elections. The
boards are generally made up of members of the county commissions.80 In some counties,
members of the board of elections have supported voter suppression efforts that
disenfranchised voters. Some also have shared controversial views that cast doubt on their
ability to objectively administer elections.

Berks County

Republican members of the Berks County Board of Elections, Commissioners Christian Leinbach
and Mark Scott, have supported voter suppression policies in the county.


In 2013, both commissioners supported a controversial effort to reclocate a polling place from a
college campus to a location several miles away. Nick Imbesi, the student body president at
Kutztown University, along with local Democratic Party officials, argued that moving the polling
place off campus would disenfranchise students, most of whom dont have a car to drive to the
polls. Whether this was politically motivated or not, the outcome is still the same. Were
suppressing our students from voting, Imbesi said.81

The move was protested by students, who marched the 4.5 miles from the on-campus polling
place, where they had voted the previous year, to the new precinct location at the Maxatawny
Township building. Joseph Scoboria, the student government president at Kutztown University,
said he was upset about a comment made by a county official, who allegedly stated, If you can
walk to the liquor store, you can walk to the polls.82

Before the 2016 election, the commissioners considered moving the polling place back to the
Kutztown University campus. However, both Leinbach and Scott voted against it, saying that
the concerns of non-student residents were more important than those of students. My goal is
to first take care of the residents, said Scott. If they were ambivalent about it, that would be
one thing, but they were not. He added that students have other options, such as absentee
voting.83

Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach

When supporting relocating a polling place miles away from a college campus, Christian
Leinbach argued that the new location was more convenient for non-student residents, who he
said vote more frequently than college students. I dont want anyone to think Im being critical
of students not participating in municipal races, Leinbach said. I understand the focus is
presidential elections.84

Leinbach, who ran as a far-right candidate in a failed congressional bid in 1996 and was a Ted
Cruz delegate in 2016, and also supported Pennsylvanias 2012 voter ID law.85

Berks County Commissioner Mark Scott

Mark Scott was a vocal opponent of bilingual ballots in Berks County, which help make voting
more accessible to Latino voters. After the U.S. Department of Justice received complaints from
Spanish-speaking voters alleging discrimination at the polls, it ordered the county, in 2002, to
offer bilingual ballots and other assistance to Hispanic voters. Scott refused to comply with the
DOJs order.

I believe we have to stand up and fight for what we believe in, Scott said. Maybe Berks
County has to be the Bunker Hill of bilingualism.86

Scott claimed he would fight bilingual ballots all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but a
federal judge ruled that Berks County had to provide bilingual ballots and other assistance for

Hispanic voters. While other county commissioners agreed they did not want to appeal, Scott
persisted in his desire to fight the ruling. This is the exaggerated byproduct of a few
malcontent activists, some of whom are from outside the Berks County area, Scott said. We
think this is part of a national trend toward a bilingual United States, which we think is a
mistake.87

Scott supported Pennsylvanias controversial voter ID law that was later struck down. After the
bill was introduced in 2012, Scott stated, In some more urban areas there is enough illegal
voting that could change the outcome of an election in a close race. He continued, The last
thing we want is for the public to lose confidence in the accuracy of the election process. In the
end, we believe the voter ID law is essential.88

Additionally, Commissioner Scott was the focus of a three-year ethics probe over a landfill
permit. The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission ruled that after appealing a landfill permit,
Scott violated ethics rules by participating in decision-making and using public resources to
further the action. In 2003 the Associated Press noted, Scotts settlement with Waste
Management Inc. may eventually prove to be a record financial penalty for an Ethics
Commission case, although no money is changing hands and the total value won't be known
until 2025.89

Chester County

Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell

Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell supported Pennsylvanias 2012 voter ID law even
though he admitted that it may make it more difficult for residents to vote.90 He also faced
allegations of voter suppression after the 2008 presidential election, which culminated in a
lawsuit brought by voting rights advocates.

Several months before the 2008 election, over two hundred residents signed a petition to move
a polling place from the Lincoln Community Association Building to Lincoln Universitys Manuel
Rivero Hall, where it had been located prior to 1992. The petition argued that the location of
the polling place disenfranchises, among others, students at Lincoln University, a majority of
whom are African-American. This constitutes a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.91 At a
September 2008 county commission meeting, residents cited numerous problems with the
community center, including parking and accessibility. One resident told the commissioners
that the 2008 primary was so overcrowded that many people left without voting.92

Farrell, with the other Republican county commissioner at the time, Carol Aichele, who would
later be appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth by Governor Tom Corbett, voted against
moving the polling place. As a result, voters on Election Daymostly Lincoln University
studentswaited in lines as long as seven hours to cast their ballots at the crowded community
center.


One Lincoln University sophomore waited six hours to cast her ballot: Its frustrating. This is
unorganized; its ridiculous, she said. They need to have a larger space, with more booths and
more scanners, and she also observed, Our gym would have been great. Now look what
everyone had to go through. I saw people who had to leave before they voted. They had
classes.93

Following the disastrous election, voting rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit against the
Chester County Commission arguing that their refusal to move the polling place disenfranchised
black voters.

In addition to numerous other issues, the lawsuit described how Aaron Martin, a Republican
poll watcher, challenged the identities of young African-American voters, even if they had valid
voter registration cards and photo IDs. Repeated challenges of young African-American voters
caused even more delays and intimidated voters. Upon information and belief, Martin did not
challenge any Caucasian voters. It continued, Defendant Commissioner Farrell was present in
the Lower Oxford East polling place most of the day. Commissioner Farrell, an officer charged
with the fair conduct of elections in Chester County, did not attempt to stop Martins unlawful
challenges. When frustrated voters approached him to voice their concerns Commissioner
Farrell shrugged and dismissed them.94

Farrell, who is African-American, rejected claims of racial discrimination. As part of the
settlement in 2010, the Chester County Board of Elections agreed to move the precinct polling
place back to the Lincoln University campus.95

Bucks County

In the last several years, the Bucks County Board of Elections has faced serious accusations of
politically motivated voter suppression and partisanship in election policy. County
Commissioners Charles Martin and Robert Loughery serve on the Board of Elections and are
both highly partisan officials.

Bucks County Commissioner Charles Martin

The Bucks County Board of Elections faced a lawsuit accusing it of deliberately suppressing
voter turnout in 2008, shortly before Commissioner Martin was on the board. The board voted
to move a polling place in Creekside, which had a significant population of minority and lowincome residents without cars. Walking to the new location from Creekside required trudging
along a busy road without a sidewalk, and crossing a five-lane intersection where an average
of 58,000 vehicles pass daily. One Creekside resident, who was elderly and black, said she had
never missed a general election until that year, when her physical ailments kept her from going
to the polls.96

Elections Director Deena Dean testified that she was harassed and intimidated by her
Republican superiors, including Commissioner Martin, after Mike Brill, a leader of the local

Republican Committee, had urged her to move the site because Creekside was a Democrat
poll. Dean, a registered Republican, was intimidated by a county lawyer before her deposition,
where she testified about two letters Brill admitted to ghostwriting for others about the polling
place after she told him that moving the poll for partisan reasons was not a legitimate request.
Dean said she had been pressured and intimidated for years by county officials, including
Martin, who had prevented her from running the office impartially and without partisan
games.97

Martin brushed off serious accusations of blatant partisanship brought by Democratic County
Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia in 2010, who pointed out that only Republicans were being
considered and appointed by the majority-Republican Board of Elections to inspect voting
machines before elections. Elections Director Deena Dean said that she sent letters to the local
Republican Party to fill the positions but did not send letters to the Democratic Party. Dean said
that because the Board of Elections has had a Republican majority since 1988, traditionally
Republicans have been asked to oversee the machines. Ellis-Marseglia called the practice
unfair and without legal basis, and introduced a motion to require the Board of Elections to
reach out to both political parties during the appointment process. None of the Republican
board members agreed to second her motion.

Martin said that the practice of appointing only Republicans as voting machine inspectors was a
non-issue. Its not a new issue, he said. Ever since before my time, the staff sent the letter
to the Republican headquarters because the majority of the board has been Republican.
Nearly a year after Martin refused to even consider making the appointment of voting machine
inspectors a bipartisan process, but the board agreed on a new, bipartisan policy on the process
of appointing the inspectors.98

Martin also disregarded the concerns of senior citizens about the voter ID law presented to the
Board of Elections when, in 2012, Martin suggested that voters who did not have a photo ID
cast absentee ballots instead.99

Bucks County Commissioner Robert Loughery

Republican Robert Loughery serves as the chairman of the Bucks County Commission. He was a
Pennsylvania state delegate for Donald Trump at the 2016 GOP convention who introduced
Trumps running mate, Governor Mike Pence, at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.100

Philadelphia County

The Philadelphia City Commission effectively functions as the board of election for Philadelphia,
as commissioners set and enforce department policies to administer voter registration and
conduct elections in accordance with federal and state voter registration and election laws.101

Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt


Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, the only Republican serving on the commission and
board of elections, faced scrutiny after releasing a report in July 2012 which argued that voter
fraud was a problem in Philadelphia. The report, which Schmidt said was not comprehensive,
did not highlight any unreported instances of voter impersonation, but he claimed there were
seven distinct types of voting irregularities/voter fraud in Philadelphia.102 Schmidt highlighted
the case of one voter who cast two ballots in several elections, which Philadelphia Inquirer
columnist Karen Heller called the only known example of voter impersonation in
Philadelphia.103

Although Schmidt claimed that his report was not released to support the recent voter ID law
which was facing a legal challenge prior to the presidential electionthe report was swiftly
promoted by Republican officials in the state in support of the new legislation. Both the
chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party and former secretary of state Carol Aichele, who
had been appointed by Governor Tom Corbett, issued statements citing the report as proof that
the state needed a voter ID law. GOP Chairman Rob Gleason even attempted to raise money off
the report: Are you as outraged by this as I am? Enough is enough, and we need to act now!
Gleason wrote in an e-mail blast. Click to donate $15, $25, $50 or more today to help us
combat voter fraud in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania. He added, Donate today
and stand up to the liberals to help us protect Pennsylvanias elections.104

Delaware County

Delaware Board of Elections Members Carmen Belefonte and James Flandreau

Carmen Belefonte and James Flandreau, who serve on the Delaware County Board of Elections,
both voted in favor of challenging absentee ballots cast by nursing home residents in 2013. The
challenge was brought by a Republican poll watcher against absentee ballots submitted by
elderly nursing home residents with serious physical ailments and disabilities.

The nursing home residents claimed that there was no shred of evidence that there was some
form of misconduct in the way the ballots were filled out, and a judge agreed, ruling in favor of
the nursing home residents. The county judge directed the Board of Elections to count the
absentee ballots, dismissing the challenge.105

Voter Suppression Groups in Pennsylvania

In addition to state and local elected officials, several organizations have worked to promote
voter suppression policies in Pennsylvania.

Independence Hall Foundation


The Independence Hall Foundation (formerly the Independence Hall Tea Party) works in
Pennsylvania to support voter suppression policies. The group was cofounded by siblings Teri
and Don Adams, both of whom have served as presidents of the groups various interests. Since
its founding, the Independence Hall Foundation has harbored many extreme views. Teri Adams
openly admits that the organization supports abolishing public education, saying it believes that
public schools should go away. She explained, Our ultimate goal is to shut down public
schools and have private schools only, eventually returning responsibility for payment to
parents and private charities. Its going to happen piecemeal and not overnight. It took us years
to get into this mess and its going to take years to get out of it.106

The group officially broke from the Tea Party in 2014 to pursue a larger, more mainstream
conservative agenda, while respecting the mission of the broader Tea Party movement. While
no longer officially affiliated with the Tea Party, the Independence Hall Foundation retains the
Tea Party-aligned mission of stopping the Obama administration from remaking America into a
. . . European socialist state.107 The foundation now describes itself as a tri-state (Delaware,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey) regional non-partisan, non-profit organization seeking to promote
the values embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and
the Bill of Rights.108

The foundations previous iteration, the Independence Hall Tea Party, was a vocal supporter of
the 2012 voter ID law. We can no longer tolerate imposters voting for dead people or
fraudulent votes being cast by individuals claiming to live at non-existent residences, said Teri
Adams in a 2012 news release. We are grateful to Representatives Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler)
and Steven Barrar (R-Delaware) for advancing the cause of voter integrity in the PA
legislature.109

After the Commonwealth Court ruled that the law could not be in effect for the 2012
presidential elections, the group spoke out against the ruling along with Rep. Daryl Metcalfe,
the controversial legislator who sponsored the law. The following year, the group awarded
Metcalfe with their 2012 Pennsylvania State Legislator of the Year award.110

In response to the courts decision staying the 2012 voter ID law, the Independence Hall Tea
Party threatened to hold Governor Tom Corbett accountable in the 2014 primary election if
the Republican governor did not appeal the ruling.111 The group also urged voters to oust two
members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Republican Chief Justice Ron Castille and
Democratic Associate Justice Max Baer, who were facing reelection before completing their
ten-year terms by January 2014. The Independence Hall Tea Party worked extremely hard to
help get Voter ID passedbeginning in November 2010, said PAC President, Don Adams. We
have contacted over 170 Tea Party and Patriot groups across Pennsylvania to ask that they join
us in urging the rejection of Justices Ron Castille and Max Baer for their role in obstructing the
implementation of the Voter ID law in both the 2012 and 2013 Pennsylvania Primary and
General Elections. 112


Independence Hall Foundation co-founder Don Adams recently lobbied the Philadelphia City
Council against a proposal that would allow any resident to receive a municipal ID card by
providing proof of residency and identity. This type of program could lead to illegal residents
receiving government benefits that they haven't paid for, warned Adams. He also warned
that it could further lead to their ability to register to vote.113

Before the 2012 presidential election, the Independence Hall Tea Party urged supporters to get
involved with the organization, writing in their newsletter, If you want to live in the United
States of America and not the Socialist States of America, you will join us during next three
weeks. The group organized an Election Day Poll Watching Project to train volunteers to
monitor polling places on Election Day to supposedly watch for voter fraud. In outreach
materials to recruit volunteers, the group wrote, Tired of dead people voting? Angry Voter ID
is being nixed? Want to stop voter fraud in 2012? There is something you can do. Join our
Election Day Poll Watching team! The flyer said the groups volunteers would monitor
Philadelphia and Suburban Precincts that havent been watched in years. Lets keep the
election fair and honestfor a change.114

True the Vote

The tactic of organizing poll watchers to allegedly look for voter fraud on Election Day has been
prominently used by True the Vote, a Houston-based national organization that advocates for
voter suppression policies, engages in fear-mongering about virtually nonexistent election
fraud, and that has worked to disenfranchise voters across the nation, as well as in
Pennsylvania specifically.

Founded by Tea Party activist Catherine Engelbrecht, True the Vote has been extremely
successful in promoting voter suppression policies around the country and its work has
bolstered legislative efforts in at least thirty-seven states to require voter ID at the polls.115 The
organization has been criticized for intimidating minority voters at polling places where their
trained poll watchers aimed to leave no polling place unmanned to guard against election
fraud, and has advocated for a range of voter suppression policies, including large-scale voter
purges.116

True the Vote has been criticized for the aggressive tactics of its trained poll watchers, including
for sending white poll watchers to majority African American neighborhoods. Voting rights
groups have noted that white poll watchers in minority neighborhoods can have a
disenfranchising effect on voters even if there is no direct interaction.117

Voter Suppression Efforts in Pennsylvania

True the Vote, which advocated for the states voter ID law, targeted Pennsylvania for poll
watching in 2012, drawing concerns that the group would target minority neighborhoods and
possibly intimidate voters. One e-mail blast from the Pittsburgh Tea Party Movement
encouraged supporters to volunteer as poll watchers, noting, With Governor Corbett not

upholding the voter-ID law, we need poll watchers but warned volunteers that some of the
areas that need poll watchers are not in the nicest part of town.118

When True the Vote announced that it would be recruiting one million poll watchers in states
across the country, including Pennsylvania, voting rights activist feared they would intimidate
black voters. Weve been very concerned that many African-American voters could be
dissuaded or turned away from the polls, said Khari Mosley of the A. Philip Randolph Institute.
If the True the Vote people do come out, there could be an intimidation factor. We want to let
people know they have rights.119

True the Votes influence as a national voter suppression organization is difficult to accurately
track because of the work it does through loosely affiliated state and local groups. A number of
such groups around the country described themselves as empowered by True the Vote. A
leader of an Illinois empowered group described True the Vote as almost like a parent group
but not exactly.120

A Pennsylvania state group that affiliated itself with True the Vote before and during the 2012
election season to promote voter suppression policies like voter ID. Empowered by True the
Vote in Pennsylvania identified True the Votes Bob Evenden as the Pennsylvania State
Coordinator on Facebook in 2011.121

True the Vote: Hardly Nonpartisan

True the Vote claims that it is focused only on ensuring fair elections and that it is not partisan.
The groups founder, Catherine Engelbrecht, has said, This has never been and never will be
about politics and maintained it is not a partisan effort.122 However, the partisan motivations
behind the right-wing group are clear.

True the Vote has been criticized on a national level for focusing its poll watchers and voter
registration challenges on minority communities that traditionally vote Democratic. True the
Votes president, Catherine Engelbrecht, highlighted the partisan motivations behind her
groups effort to fight alleged election fraud: You dont need a whole lot of election fraud; you
just need a little bit in the right places to swing an election.123

Conclusion

Officials at all levels of Pennsylvanias government have engaged in what amounts to a longterm assault on voting rights. Voter suppression policiesrestrictive voter ID laws, purging
voter rolls, and other policies that make voting less accessibledisproportionately affect
minorities, senior citizens, the disabled, and low-income voters who should be encouraged to
turn out and exercise their constitutional rights to vote.


Despite what some Pennsylvania officials have expressed, voting is a right, not a privilege.
These officials are failing all Pennsylvanians when they are motivated by partisanship and
engage in racially charged rhetoric while serving in roles intended to impartially administer
elections and protect voting rights. Voter suppression policies do not simply make it more
difficult for Pennsylvanians to votethey also strip constitutional rights from largely minority
voters, all for the purpose of partisan, political gain.
End Notes

1
Voter Identification Requirements, Pennsylvania Department of State website, May 2015, accessed October 3, 2016,
http://www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/OtherServicesEvents/Documents/Voter%20ID%20Guidance%20FINAL.pdf.
2
Sari Horwitz, Getting a Photo ID So You Can Vote Is Easy, Unless Youre Poor, Black, Latino or Elderly, Washington Post, May
23, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/getting-a-photo-id-so-you-can-vote-is-easy-unless-yourepoor-black-latino-or-elderly/2016/05/23/8d5474ec-20f0-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html.
3
Oppose Voter ID Legislation - Fact Sheet, American Civil Liberties Union website, accessed, accessed October 3, 2016,
https://www.aclu.org/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet.
4
Absentee and Early Voting, National Conference of State Legislatures website, May 26, 2016, accessed October 3, 2016,
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx.
5
Voting by Absentee Ballot, Pennsylvania Department of State, VotesPa website, accessed October 3, 2016,
http://www.votespa.com/en-us/voting-and-elections/types-of-voting/Pages/Absentee-Ballot.aspx.
6
Absentee and Early Voting.
7
Sarah Smith, Early Voting Increases Turnout Two to Four Percent, Boosts Voting Among Minorities, Salon, October 1, 2016,
http://www.salon.com/2016/10/01/which-voters-show-up-when-states-allow-early-voting_partner/.
8
Paul Carpenter, Pennsylvania Early Voting an Idea Whose Time Has Come, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, March 16, 2013,
http://articles.mcall.com/2013-03-16/news/mc-pc-pennsylvania-early-voting-20130316_1_voter-fraud-photo-id-law-voterturnout.
9
Editorial Board, Early Voting Right for State, Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune, April 5, 2013, http://thetimestribune.com/opinion/early-voting-right-for-state-1.1465003.
10
Questions That Are Asked Frequently by Voters, Mercer County Pennsylvania website, accessed October 3, 2016,
https://www.mcc.co.mercer.pa.us/election/Questions Frequently Asked.htm.
11
Brad Bumsted, Pennsylvania Joins Coalition to Clean Up Voter Rolls, Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review, October 13, 2013,
http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/4877446-74/voter-election-rolls.
12
Greg Palast, Jim Crow Returns, Al Jazeera America, October 29, 2014, http://projects.aljazeera.com/2014/doublevoters/index.html.
13
Arlene Martnez, New Laws on Illegals Suspect, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, July 21, 2006, http://articles.mcall.com/200607-21/news/3688955_1_illegal-immigrants-legal-residency-hazleton.
14
Michael P. Buffer, County Official Says Registered Voters Were Turned Away in Hazleton Precincts, (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Citizens Voice, November 9, 2012, http://citizensvoice.com/news/county-official-says-registered-voters-were-turned-away-inhazleton-precincts-1.1400878; and Michael P. Buffer, County Rules on Provisional Ballots, (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Citizens Voice,
November 10, 2012, http://citizensvoice.com/news/county-rules-on-provisional-ballots-1.1401302.
15
Associated Press, Lawsuit Targets Pennsylvania's Fortified Voter Law, Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review, May 1, 2012,
http://triblive.com/home/1293147-74/law-filed-lawsuit-lawyers-seeking-vote-voter-american-bill-center.
16
Jeff Frantz, Metcalfe 'Disappointed' Corbett not Continuing Fight on Voter ID Law, (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News, May 9,
2014, http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/05/metcalfe_disappointed_corbett.html.
17
Marc Levy, Pa. Voter ID Bill Passes Senate, Heads to House, Associated Press State and Local Wire, March 7, 2012,
http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20120307/NEWS/303079960.
18
Ibid.
19
Robert Barnes, Pennsylvania Voter-ID Case Opens in State Court, Washington Post, July 25, 2012,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pa-voter-id-case-opens-in-state-court/2012/07/25/gJQAt28A9W_story.html.
20
Jan Murphy, Religious Questions for Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Draw Fire, Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News, April 8, 2012,
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/04/religious_questions_for_pennsy.html.
21
Bob Warner, Voter ID Law May Hit More in Pa. Than Originally Estimated, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 4, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-04/news/32524446_1_voter-id-new-voter-id-cards.
22
Levy, Pa. Voter ID Bill.
23
Rick Lyman, Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Struck Down as Judge Cites Burden on Citizens, New York Times, January 17, 2014,
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/us/politics/pennsylvania-voter-id-law-struck-down.html.
24
Pa. House Video YouTube channel, Turzai: Voter ID Will Allow Romney to Win Pa., YouTube video, :12, posted June 25,
2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOT1bRYdK8.
25
Angela Couloumbis, A Top Republicans Remark about Voter ID Brings Him under Political Fire, Philadelphia Inquirer, June
28, 2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-28/news/32442108_1_voter-id-law-voter-fraud-turzai-of-allegheny-county.
26
Angela Couloumbis, PA GOP Chair Says Voter ID Helped Cut Obama Margin, Commonwealth Confidential (blog},
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 19, 2013, http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/PA-GOP-chair-says-voter-IDhelped-cut-Obama-margin.html.
27
Daniel Denvir, Gov. Corbett Contracts with Romney Fundraiser for PA Voter ID Ad Campaign, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 11,
2012, http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/Corbett-contracts-with-Romney-fundraiser-Voter-IDcampaign.html.
28
Mark Shade, Pennsylvania Judge: Voter ID Law a No-Go for November 6, Reuters, October 2, 2012,
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-campaign-pennsylvania-idUSBRE8900LA20121002; and Jan Murphy, Voter ID
Opponents Say State's Ad Campaign Is Misleading, (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News, October 18, 2012,
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/10/voter_id_1.html.
29
Angela Couloumbis, Groups Ask Judge to Stop Outdated Pa. Voter-ID Mailings, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-21/news/34607818_1_voter-id-law-disenfranchise-voters-photo-identification.
30
Associated Press, PA Auditor General Critical of $1 Million Voter ID TV Ads, WITF.org, October 22, 2013,
http://www.witf.org/news/2013/10/pa-auditor-general-criticical-of-1-million-voter-id-tv-ads.php.
31
Steve Esack, Gov. Tom Corbett Won't Appeal Court Ruling Against Voter ID Law, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, May 8, 2014,
http://articles.mcall.com/2014-05-08/news/mc-pa-corbett-voter-id-20140508_1_voter-id-law-photo-identification-courtruling.
32
Bob Warner, Mailing to Retired City Workers Says Photo ID Needed to Vote, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-16/news/34473759_1_voter-id-law-flier-potential-voters.
33
Bob Warner, PECO Admits to Sending Incorrect Voter ID Info to 1.3 million Customers, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18,
2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-18/news/34527190_1_voter-id-law-cathy-engel-menendez-peco-spokeswoman.
34
Michael Hinkelman, Report: Voter ID Could Stop Nearly One in Six Pa. Latinos from Voting, Philadelphia Inquirer, September
26, 2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-26/news/34083568_1_voter-id-law-latino-voters-voter-id.
35
Jessica Parks, Pa.s New Voter-ID Law Caused Confusion, Voters Say, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 7, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-11-07/news/34974403_1_voter-id-law-poll-workers-general-election.
36
Marc Levy, Pa. Voter ID Law Challenged in Court, Associated Press State and Local Wire, May 1, 2012..
37
Peter Hall and Scott Kraus, Controversial Measure Is in Hands of Judge with Valley Ties, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, July
28, 2012, http://articles.mcall.com/2012-07-28/news/mc-pa-voter-id-supreme-court-20120727_1_voter-id-law-voteridentification-ellen-mattleman-kaplan.
38
Amy Worden, Judge Rejects Bid to Block Pa. Voter ID Law, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-15/news/33217505_1_voter-identification-law-voter-id-law-new-law.
39
Karen Langley, Pa. Voter ID Opponents Appeal to High Court, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, August 31, 2012,
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2012/08/31/Pa-voter-ID-opponents-appeal-to-high-court/stories/201208310145.
40
Bob Warner and Angela Couloumbis, Pa. High Court Tells Judge to Check Voter ID Access, Philadelphia Inquirer, September
20, 2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-20/news/33953478_1_voter-id-law-voter-identification-requirement-id-cards.
41
Angela Couloumbis, Court Sets Voter-ID Law Aside for November Elections, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 4, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-04/news/34240219_1_voter-id-law-league-of-women-voters-commonwealth-secretarycarol-aichele.
42
Steve Esack and Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Voter ID Challenge Moves Toward July 15 Trial, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, June
25, 2013, http://articles.mcall.com/2013-06-25/news/mc-pa-voter-id-trial-set-20130624_1_voter-id-judge-robert-simpsontransportation-id; and Peter Jackson, Pa. Judge Bars Voter ID Enforcement in November Election, August 16, 2013,
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pa-Judge-Bars-ID-Enforcement-in-Nov-Election-219969241.html.
43
Marc Levy, Judge Strikes Down Photo ID Requirement for Pa. Voters, Associated Press State and Local Wire, January 17,
2014, http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140117/updated-judge-strikes-down-photo-id-requirement-for-pa-voters.
44
Esack, Gov. Tom Corbett Won't Appeal.
45
Frantz, Metcalfe 'Disappointed.'
46
Tom Barnes, Metcalfe Introduces Pa. Voter ID Bill, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, May 13, 2008, http://www.postgazette.com/breaking/2008/05/13/Metcalfe-introduces-Pa-voter-ID-bill/stories/200805130186.
47
Associated Press, Would-Be Voters Who Can't Get IDs Are 'Too Lazy,' Pennsylvania Lawmaker Says, Harrisburg (PA) PatriotNews, September 21, 2012, http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/09/would-be_voters_who_cant_get_i.html.
48
Chris Brennan, After Voter-ID Ruling, Pa. Conservatives Target Corbett, Judges, Philadelphia Daily News, October 4, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-04/news/34240156_1_voter-id-law-state-carol-aichele-provisional-ballots.
49
State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, Read About Pennsylvanias Modern Day Paul Revere, news release, May 24, 2007,
http://www.repmetcalfe.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=1171.
50
State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, Lawmakers Introduce All-Encompassing National Security Begins at Home Illegal
Immigration Reform Package, news release, March 21, 2007, http://www.repmetcalfe.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=1164;
and State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, State Legislators for Legal Immigration Founder Metcalfe and West Virginia
Lawmakers Band Together to Curb Illegal Alien Invasion, news release, October 14, 2008,
51
Nigel Duara, Arizonas Once-Feared Immigration Law, SB 1070, Loses Most of Its Power in Settlement, Los Angeles Times,
September 15, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-arizona-law-20160915-snap-story.html.
52
State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, Metcalfes Arizona-Style Apprehension Measure Offers 140,000+ Illegal Aliens Two
Options: Leave PA or Go to Jail, news release, May 4, 2010, http://www.repmetcalfe.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=8874.
53
PA State Representative Daryl Metcalfe Facebook page, status of September 20, 2015 (1:22 p.m.), accessed September 28,
2016, https://www.facebook.com/RepMetcalfe/posts/882690841785488.
54
Kate Giammarise and Karen Langley, Rep. Metcalfe: A White Nationalist Is not a White Supremacist, Pittsburgh (PA) PostGazette, September 25, 2015, http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2015/09/24/Metcalfe-defends-invitation-towhite-nationalist-to-English-only-hearing/stories/201509240199; and Jason Addy, State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe Defends White
Nationalism, Politics PA, September 25, 2015, http://www.politicspa.com/state-rep-daryl-metcalfe-defends-whitenationalism/69465/.
55
Tracie Mauriello, Rep. Metcalfe Sees 'Dirty Politics' Behind Award, Pittsburgh (PA)Post-Gazette, July 10, 2008,
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56
Josh Middleton, Bigot Watch: Read Darryl Metcalfes Anti-Gay Memo, Philadelphia Magazine, January 14, 2013,
http://www.phillymag.com/g-philly/2013/01/14/bigot-watch-darryl-metcalf-passes-anti-gay-memo/; PA State Representative
Daryl Metcalfe Facebook page, status of October 20, 2010 (7:10 a.m.), accessed September 29, 2016,
https://www.facebook.com/daryl.metcalfe.9/posts/157707397597376; and State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, Metcalfe
Introduces Legislation Requiring All Candidates to Prove Constitutional Eligibility for Ballot Access, news release, April 13,
2011, http://www.repmetcalfe.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=11073.
57
Mark Scolforo, Presidential Year Brings Pa. Election Tinkering, Associated Press State and Local Wire, March 10, 2012,
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58
Rep Turzai YouTube channel, Voter ID Bill Protects the Sanctity of Every Vote, YouTube video, 1:43, March 14, 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taUebUaKRg8.
59
Pa. House Video YouTube channel, Turzai: Voter ID.
60
Couloumbis, A Top Republicans Remark.
61
Chris Brennan, Key Points in Judges Ruling, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 17, 2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-0817/news/33233597_1_voter-id-law-id-within-six-days-voter-fraud.
62
Rep. Stephen Bloom Twitter post, March 7, 2012, 6:07 a.m., accessed October 3, 2016,
https://twitter.com/RepBloom/status/178482122640723969.
63
Christen Smith, State Judge Deems Voter ID Law Unconstitutional: Supporters Say Fight Is not Over, (Carlisle, PA) Sentinel,
January 17, 2014, http://cumberlink.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/state-judge-deems-voter-id-law-unconstitutionalsupporters-say-fight/article_16646ea4-7fdb-11e3-9781-001a4bcf887a.html.
64
Jason Scott, Chairman: Tea Party Movement Good for GOP, (Carlisle, PA) Sentinel, July 4, 2010,
http://cumberlink.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/chairman-tea-party-movement-good-for-gop/article_05eca356871a-11df-b674-001cc4c002e0.html.
65
Steve Bloom Facebook page, photo album 9/12 Taxpayer March on Washington, photo 18 of 88 posted September 12,
2009 (10:25 p.m.), accessed October 3, 2016,
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1168122176237&set=a.1168116936106.27756.1623420802&type=3&permPage=
1.
66
Christian Alexandersen, Pa. Lawmakers Tweet Blames Obama for Baltimore Rioting, (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News, April
28, 2015, http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/pa_lawmakers_tweet_seems_to_bl.html.
67
Greg Gross, Pa. Bills Would Make Voter Registration Easier, York (PA) Dispatch, March 15, 2016,
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2016/03/14/pa-bills-would-make-voter-registration-easier/81776392/.
68
Rep Tallman YouTube channel, Voter ID Protects Voting Process, YouTube video, 1:54, posted March 19, 2012, accessed
October 3, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izdPy7W9Lo0.
69
Rep Tallman YouTube channel, Voter ID Bill Will Reduce Fraud, Bring Integrity, YouTube video, 1:01, posted March 13,
2012, accessed October 3, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrbS1XVwwW0.
70
Lyman, Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Struck Down.
71
Joseph Deinlein, Tea Party Draws Crowd to Hanover Park, York (PA) Daily Record/Sunday News, April 16, 2010,
http://www.lowellsun.com/theatre/ci_14893435.
72
Erin James, Tallman Joins Immigration Task Force, Hanover (PA) Evening Sun, May 1, 2009.
73
Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus, Tallman Legislation Would Block Obama Executive Order on Firearms, news
release, January 7, 2016, http://www.pahousegop.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=25863.
74
Bill Information History; House Bill 934; Regular Session 2011-2012, Pennsylvania General Assembly website, accessed
October 3, 2016, http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2011&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=934.
75
State Representative Dan Moul, Voter ID Protection Act Will Prevent Fraud, Says Moul, news release, May 14, 2008,
http://www.repmoul.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=6598.
76
Richard Fellinger, DePasquale Working on Early Voting in Pa., but Some Dont Want It, Hanover (PA) Evening Sun,
November 1, 2008.
77
Matthew Major, Pa. House Puts Forth Yet Another Vote-Rigging Attempt, (Chambersburg, PA) Public Opinion, January 18,
2013; and H.B. 94, The General Assembly of Pennsylvania (2013),
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTy
p=B&billNbr=0094&pn=0083.
78
Richard Fellinger, Black Caucus Rebukes Moul Comments, Hanover (PA) Evening Sun, January 3, 2008.
79
Ibid,
80
25 P.S. 2641. County Boards of Elections; Membership, Purdons Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes, Title
25 P.S. Elections & Electoral Districts, Chapter 14, Article III,
https://govt.westlaw.com/pac/Document/NEAC22EC0343011DA8A989F4EECDB8638?originationContext=document&transitio
nType=StatuteNavigator&needToInjectTerms=False&viewType=FullText&contextData=(sc.Default)&bhcp=1&bhhash=1#co_anc
hor_IA1CBD390D97C11E588E0BCA0F3887F49.
81
Colby Itkowitz, Poll Site Taken off Kutztown Campus: Officials Say Move Ends Overlapping Precincts, but Critics Charge Move
Is Political, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, August 15, 2013.
82
Ron Develin, Kutztown University Students Hike to Polling Place 4.5 Miles Away, Reading (PA) Eagle, November 5, 2014,
http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/kutztown-university-students-walk-more-than-4-miles-to-maxatawny-townshipbuilding-to-vote.
83
Stephanie Weaver, Polling Place Won't Move Back to Kutztown University, Board Rules, Reading (PA) Eagle, March 17,
2016, http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/polling-place-wont-move-back-to-kutztown-university-board-rules.
84
Mary Young, Democrats Balk at Polling Site Change, Reading (PA) Eagle, August 18, 2013,
http://www.readingeagle.com/article/20130818/NEWS/308189950.
85
Bob Wittman, Holden Holds off Conservatives: Leinbach Concedes after He Is Trounced by The Veteran Democrat in His
Home County, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, November 6, 1996, http://articles.mcall.com/1996-1106/news/3120149_1_holden-welfare-reform-votes; Laura Olson, Scott Kraus, and Matt Assad, Who Do the Pennsylvania
Republican Delegates Support?, (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, April 26, 2016, http://www.mcall.com/news/local/elections/mcpa-republican-delegates-presidential-picks-20160420-story.html; and Mike Urban, Mixed Reaction to Voter ID Law Delay,
Reading (PA) Eagle, October 3, 2012, http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=418441.
86
Berks County Officials Prepare for Bilingualism Battle, Associated Press State and Local Wire, December 20, 2002.
87
Federal judge orders Berks County to print ballots in Spanish, Associated Press State and Local Wire, March 19, 2003.
88
Mike Urban, Mixed Reaction to Voter ID Law Delay, Reading (PA) Eagle, October 3, 2012,
http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=418441.
89
Mark Scolforo, Business Is Booming for State Ethics Agency, Associated Press State and Local Wire, July 26, 2003.
90
Editorial Board, Judge's Decision to Delay Implementation of Voter ID Is the Correct Move, (West Chester, PA) Daily Local,
October 3, 2012, http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20121003/OPINION03/121009887/judge-s-decision-to-delayimplementation-of-voter-id-is-the-correct-move.
91
Dan Hardy and Nancy Petersen, Long Lines for Lincoln University Students, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 5, 2008,
http://articles.philly.com/2008-11-05/news/25256128_1_polling-place-polling-site-new-voters.
92
Rachel Pilgren, Commissioners Vote on Polling Relocation Request, Avon Grove (PA) Sun, September 25, 2008.
93
Hardy and Petersen, Long Lines.
94
English, et al. v. Chester County, et al., No. 10-244 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 10, 2010).
95
Terence Farrell, Commissioner Responds to Editorial, (West Chester, PA) Daily Local News, August 24, 2010; and The
American Civil Liberties Union, Lincoln University Students and Chester County Residents Settle Lawsuit Charging Racial
Discrimination in 2008 Election, news release, August 10, 2010, https://www.aclu.org/news/lincoln-university-students-andchester-county-residents-settle-lawsuit-charging-racial.
96
Larry King, Bucks poll move case goes to court Plaintiffs: It's vote suppression, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 28, 2008,
http://articles.philly.com/2008-09-28/news/25248066_1_polling-place-polling-site-deposition.
97
Larry King, Bucks Elections Chief Alleges Harassment, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2008,
http://articles.philly.com/2008-09-30/news/25248755_1_polling-place-election-code-republican-ploy.
98
Natalya Bucuy, Bucks Commissioners Spar over Primary Election Inspectors, Bucks (Lansdale, PA) Local News, April 27,
2010,
http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2010/04/27/bucks_news/doc4bd745f8be112911723953.txt?viewmode=fullstory;
and Natalya Bucuy, Bucks County Board of Elections Approves Policy to Encourage Volunteer Bipartisanship, Bucks (Lansdale,
PA) Local News, March 22, 2011,

http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2011/03/22/bucks_news/doc4d772efdbf189249870650.txt.
99
Charles Martin, Bucks County Seniors Express Concern about Voter ID Law, Perkasie (PA) News Herald, April 10, 2012,
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2012/04/10/perkasie_news_herald/news/doc4f83102001424373102270.txt?view
mode=fullstory.
100
Bob Keeler, 'THE CHOICE COULD NOT BE MORE CLEAR': Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Governor Mike Pence Brings
National Campaign to Bucks County, Bucks (Lansdale, PA) Local News, August 26, 2016,
http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2016/08/26/bucks_news/doc57bde986440ec539173432.full and Transcript, CNN,
Smerconish, April 30, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1604/30/smer.01.html.
101
About the Philadelphia City Commissioners, Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners website, accessed October 3,
2016, http://www.philadelphiavotes.com/en/about-us.
102
Bob Warner, Report turns up Philadelphia voting irregularities, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 20, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-20/news/32747884_1_election-officials-voter-impersonation-new-voter-id-law and Al
Schmidt Facebook page, status of July 18, 2012 (9:03 p.m.), accessed September 28, 2016,
https://www.facebook.com/al.schmidt.90/posts/414066348629021.
103
Karen Heller, Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Will Cut Turnout, Not Fraud, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2012,
http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-22/news/32789116_1_voter-id-law-voter-fraud-state-carol-aichele.
104
Chris Brennan and Catherine Lucey, Philly Election Official Details Examples of Voter Fraud, Philadelphia Daily News, July
19, 2012, http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-19/news/32731301_1_voter-fraud-voter-id-law-voters-cast-ballots; and Heller,
Pennsylvania Voter ID.
105
Delco Judge Backs Fourteen Voters in Marple Ballot Challenge, Delaware County (PA) Daily Times, November 20, 2013,
http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20131120/NEWS/131129944.
106
Zaid Jilani, Pro-Voucher Tea Party Group Admits It Wants to Shut Down Public Schools and Have Private Schools Only,
Think Progress, July 11, 2011, https://thinkprogress.org/pro-voucher-tea-party-group-admits-it-wants-to-shut-down-publicschools-and-have-private-schools-aff5b1523043#.hv4hqah9z.
107
Lydia ONeal, Phila.-Area Tea Party Group Ends Its Party Role, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 27, 2014,
http://articles.philly.com/2014-07-27/news/52062375_1_tea-party-republican-party-movement.
108
Jay Lehr, Heartland Institute, HEARTLAND INSTITUTE JOINS COALITION CHALLENGING POPE FRANCISS VIEWS ON GLOBAL
WARMING, CAPITALISM , news release, September 14, 2015, accessed October 14, 2016, https://www.heartland.org/newsopinion/news/heartland-institute-joins-coalition-challenging-pope-franciss-views-on-global-warming-capitalism.
109
Independence Hall Tea Party Association, Tea Party Association Celebrates Passage of Voter ID Bill in PA, Pushes for Similar
Bill in Jersey,, news release, March 8, 2012, http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Tea-Party-Behind-Voter-IDBills.html?soid=1103080512401&aid=AB0y2p7BZ-c.
110
State Representative Daryl Metcalfe MARCH For Liberty, news release, March 28, 2013,
111
Eric Mayes, Delayed Pa. voter ID law cheered, jeered, The Philadelphia Tribune, October 4, 2012, accessed October 14,
2016, http://www.phillytrib.com/news/delayed-pa-voter-id-law-cheered-jeered/article_780ef138-d6d0-55f5-b79abf042f95f4f3.html.
112
Brennan, After Voter-ID Ruling; and Nick Field, Tea Party Group Urges Ouster of Supreme Court Judges, Politics PA,
October 31, 2013, http://www.politicspa.com/tea-party-group-urges-ouster-of-supreme-court-judges/52504/.
113
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http://articles.philly.com/2016-02-27/news/70977740_1_city-council-city-services-city-tax.
114
Don Adams e-mail to Independence Hall Tea Party PAC mailing list, October 14, 2012, Independence Hall Tea Party PAC,
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/All-Hands-on-Deck-for-America.html?soid=1103080512401&aid=v1nN-fr8Urk.
115
Jane Mayer, The Voter-Fraud Myth: The Man Who Has Stoked Fear About Impostors at the Polls, The New Yorker, October
29, 2012, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/29/the-voter-fraud-myth.
116
AJ Vicens and Natasha Khan, Voters Feel Intimidated by Election Observers, Tucson (AZ) Sentinel, August 20, 2012,
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/082012_voting_observers/voters-feel-intimidated-by-election-observers/.
117
Mariah Blake, The Ballot Cops, The Atlantic, September 19, 2012,
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/the-ballot-cops/309085/; AJ Vicens and Natasha Khan, Election
Observers Proliferate at Polls, Washington Post, August 24, 2012, htpp://www.washingtonpost.com%2Fpolitics%2Felectionobservers-proliferate-at-polls%2F2012%2F08%2F24%2F1452c3ba-ed4f-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html; and Dan Harris &
Melia Patria, Is True the Vote Intimidating Minority Voters From Going to the Polls?, ABC News, November 2, 2012, accessed
October 14, 2016, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/true-vote-intimidating-minority-voters-polls/story?id=17618823.
118
Chris Potter, Activists on Guard to Spurn Voter Intimidation on Election Day, Pittsburgh (PA) City Paper, October 17, 2012,
http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/activists-on-guard-to-spurn-voter-intimidation-on-electionday/Content?oid=1577899.
119
Ibid
Abby Rapoport, Whats the Truth About True the Vote? American Prospect, October 1, 2012,
http://prospect.org/article/whats-truth-about-true-vote.
121
Empowered by True the Vote in Pennsylvania Facebook page, photo posted September 27, 2011 (9:21 pm), accessed
September 30, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/253823194659039/photos/pb.253823194659039.2207520000.1473960639./253839281324097/?type=3&theater and Valley Forge Patriots Monthly Meeting, Valley Forge
Patriots - Tea Party Conservatives, May 9, 2014, http://www.meetup.com/VFP-TeaParty09/events/178872932/.
122
Barry M. Horstman, Group to Sue for Purge of the Rolls, Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer, August, 27, 2012.
123
Matthew Boyle, Chris McDaniel Rushes to Review Ballots from Tuesdays Election, Breitbart, June 27, 2014,
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/06/27/mcdaniel-rushes-to-review-ballots-from-tuesday-s-election/ and
Mariah Blake, The Ballot Cops,
120

Something's Rotten: Pennsylvania's Shameful Record of Voter Suppression and The Partisan and Sometimes Racially Charged Motivations of Those Administering Its Elections

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Something's Rotten: Pennsylvania's Shameful Record of Voter Suppression and The Partisan and Sometimes Racially Charged Motivations of Those Administering Its Elections

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Executive Summary

In Pennsylvania, political figuresfrom statewide elected officials and state legislators to

Voter Suppression in Pennsylvania

Voter Restrictions in Pennsylvania

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 2

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 3

Pennsylvanias Controversial Voter ID Efforts

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 4

Criticism of the 2012 Voter ID Law

Legal Challenge and Eventual Voting Rights Victory

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 8

Voter Suppression in the Pennsylvania State Legislature

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 9

State Representative Mike Turzai

State Representative Stephen Bloom

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 12

State Representative Will Tallman

State Representative Dan Moul

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 13

Pennsylvanias Local Election Officials

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 14

Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell

Delaware Board of Elections Members Carmen Belefonte and James Flandreau

Voter Suppression Groups in Pennsylvania

Independence Hall Foundation

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 19

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 20

True the Vote

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 22

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 23

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 24

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 25

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 26

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 27

PA) Local News, March 22, 2011,

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 28

SOMETHINGS ROTTEN | ALLIED PROGRESS | 29

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