To our fellow election integrity advocates:
Yesterday, we celebrated Juneteenth, commemorating June 19, 1865, when some 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were finally set free TWO AND A HALF YEARS after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect! However, it wasn’t until the 15th Amendment passed in 1870 that men were guaranteed the right to vote regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," at least on paper. And women did not get the same guarantee until 50 years later.
History shows us that we cannot simply expect our democracy to work on its own. We need to stay informed and keep fighting to defend it!
On Tuesday, you’ll have a chance to learn about the dangers of the election equipment that Philadelphia uses. There’s also a great opportunity to advocate for meaningful voting protections nationally!
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Take Action!
Tues June 22, 12 noon–5pm, online
There are many great panelists, including POVPhilly member and nationally recognized election security expert, Kevin Skoglund. Sign up here (no, you don’t have to attend the whole 5 hours!). Organized by Free Speech for People and Coalition on Good Governance.
Tues June 22, 12:20–1pm at 2nd & Chestnut St (sidewalk outside Sen. Toomey's office)
Rally to support passage of the For the People Act. POVPhilly is endorsing this Tuesdays with Toomey event. More info
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POVPhilly sides with Deeley (!) to count mail ballots that voters didn’t date
On June 1, the Philadelphia Board of Elections voted 2–1 not to count over 1300 mail-in ballots. Why? Voters casting those ballots neglected to date their envelope. Never mind that the ballots arrived on time.
This disturbing episode started with inaccurate reporting in the Inquirer, continued with empty threats from state GOP leaders and bad advice from Governor Wolf’s Dept. of State, and ended with Commissioners Al Schmidt and Omar Sabir voting to throw out these ballots. Many other Pa. counties chose to count the undated ballots, but in Philadelphia only Commissioner Lisa Deeley stood up for the voters.
See the full POVPhilly statement on this appalling episode. The gist of the statement is in this much shorter letter in the Inquirer by POVPhilly founding member Rich Garella and Mark Zecca, former senior attorney in the city law department.
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Will a new bill spread some sunshine to our Board of Elections?
As longtime followers know, POVPhilly has been working to get our City Commissioners to actually make their legally mandated “Sunshine meetings” transparent and useful.
Great news! SB 554, passed 49-0 by the Pa. Senate on June 10, would amend the Sunshine Act to require agencies to post agendas publicly 24 hours in advance, otherwise not vote on motions except in limited emergency situations. That would give the public a chance to comment before motions are passed, and organize in favor or against them. That’s not possible now — the Board of Elections refuses to give any notice of its actions. Chair Deeley even says that she checked with the Law Department and their refusal is legal.
POVPhilly feels strongly about the importance of well publicized and documented meetings—with an agenda published in advance. Indeed, our organization only exists because a bunch of us met at the two poorly announced meetings our Commissioners held before approving the expensive and insecure voting machines we have now; voting machines that POVPhilly is still fighting!
Read, like, and share POVPhilly’s Twitter thread on this matter. The House still needs to pass this legislation, but this big win in the PA Senate is a fantastic start.
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Support POVPhilly
Please join us in the fight for election integrity in Philadelphia. Tell us what your concerns are and how you’d like to help. Reply to this newsletter, comment on Facebook, or tweet to @POVPhilly. We also welcome your donations to help us continue this work.
Or send a check to Protect Our Vote Philly, 333B Monroe St, Philadelphia PA 19147
Contributions are not tax-deductible.
We thank all our hard-working volunteers, the citizen advocates who joined us at Board of Elections meetings and helped us to observe at the canvasses, our coalition member groups, our national partners, and every one of you who joins us to make our elections as secure, trustworthy as they can be.
Your friends at
Protect Our Vote Philly
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About POVPhilly
Protect Our Vote Philly is a watchdog over the Office of the City Commissioners, which operates Philadelphia’s elections. As a non-partisan coalition of groups and individuals, we work to bring elections that are verifiably fair, accurate, and secure to Philadelphia, at a fair cost. More at povphilly.org
LEARN MORE • TAKE ACTION • #StopTheMachine
Supporting Organizations: Citizens for Better Elections, Clean Money Squad PA, Indivisible Philadelphia, Indivisible NW Philly, March On Harrisburg, Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks, Represent Us Pennsylvania, UUJusticePA |
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