The 2020 General Election was the most secure in history, with record turnout across Pennsylvania and the U.S.
More Americans voted in the 2020 election than in any election going back more than a century – with more than two thirds of the voting population casting a ballot. Yet, instead of celebrating the greatest number of voices participating in democracy, Republican political leaders and extremists attempted to undermine democracy.
Extremists refused to embrace a peaceful transition of power and promoted bogus claims on social media and baseless arguments in courts. The verbal attacks ultimately culminated in a hideous and terrifying riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that included rioters assaulting 140 members of law enforcement. The acts of that day resulted in 99 people being charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
What made the attacks on democracy even more outlandish is many of the politicians parroting baseless claims and outright lies had been elected to office in the very elections they attempted to discredit. They followed a leader who would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power months before or in the wake of an election tossing him out of office.
In the weeks that followed, the House Democratic Policy Committee held hearings securing feedback from state officials, bipartisan county election officials, members of congress, professors, and experts on hate speech.
House Democrats continued to work to help hard-working county election officials make a good thing even better since 2020, but extremists controlling the PA Senate have blocked every attempt to make it more convenient to vote and easier for your vote to be counted accurately and quickly.
Legislation has been introduced to protect the security and integrity of each vote. These bills cut through bureaucratic red tape and would make it easier for people to securely cast their ballot.
Attacks against fair and secure elections are attacks against the very foundation of democracy. Voting should be convenient and secure; anything else is voter suppression.