Salewa Ogunmefun: An easy fix to make next year’s primaries accessible to all

There has been a lot of conversation recently in Harrisburg about moving the date of next year’s primary election because the election date coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover. Competing proposals in both legislative chambers have sought to temporarily move the date earlier, between three and five weeks. Yet, secure improvements such as early voting, which would enable two weeks of in-person voting on machines, have been overlooked.

In the time since then, disorder in Harrisburg has prevented any progress on the issue, with competing proposals for a new date raising concerns that they would conflict with the Jewish Passover holiday, the Christian, Muslim, and Hindu holidays of Easter, Eid al-Fitr, and Rama Navami.

The priority appears to have stalled, as the County Commissioners Association, whose members are tasked with administering the elections, have said that it is too late for them to be able to do so effectively if the date were to be moved now. There are also concerns about ballot access for candidates, as moving the primary up would mean they would need to gather signatures to get on the ballot starting in late December.

At Pennsylvania Voice we firmly believe that democracy operates best when all eligible voters have convenient access to the ballot box. The religious holiday conflicts that we have seen unfold during this process are a stark reminder of the simple truth that by limiting in-person voting to a single day will always mean that some folks will be excluded from our democratic process.

Fortunately, there is a safe solution that would make voting more convenient and easy to access for every eligible voter: establishing an early voting period where voters can enter a designated early vote center, check in with election officials, and cast their ballot on a secure voting machine — similar to the election day experience.

The popularity of Pennsylvania’s expanded vote by mail system established by Act 77 clearly demonstrates that there is a significant appetite among Pennsylvania voters not to have to vote under the old single-day in-person system, but not all voters aspire to vote by mail.

Some voters enjoy the sense of community and civic engagement that comes from showing up to a polling place in their neighborhood, staffed by their friends and neighbors, building civic unity. Other voters aren’t accustomed to checking their mailbox, and conflicting messaging and misinformation have solidified their resolve to vote in person. And even more have busy schedules, and voting during their lunch hour ensures they have the time to participate. All of these reasons are valid, and they deserve to be addressed.

Pennsylvania has much work to do to ensure all of our citizens have convenient access to the ballot. Roughly two-thirds of all states, red and blue alike, have some form of in-person early voting. It has proven to be safe, secure and enhance voter participation. There is no good reason why we should not adopt these practices in Pennsylvania.

In the same way that early voting has been adopted broadly, some two dozen states and Washington, D.C., already permit any qualified resident to register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s expansion of automatic voter registration is a pivotal step toward full participation across the commonwealth, it’s time for the legislature to act. Pennsylvania should implement same-day voter registration.

Most citizens become interested and engaged in elections in the final weeks before Election Day, when campaigns reach their peak. Campaigns know this, which is why during those final weeks before an election, voters are flooded with ads, phone calls and door-knocking.

Same-day voter registration eliminates the state’s arbitrary deadline and makes it possible for residents to register when they’re most engaged. Same-day voter registration also ensures that our voting systems maintain secure and up to date by enabling real-time corrections to inaccurate voter rolls.

Early voting and same-day voter registration are easy-to-understand, trustworthy and commonsense reforms that will alleviate the need to move the primary in the future to accommodate residents’ ability to participate. The Pennsylvania General Assembly should deliver a big win for the commonwealth by ensuring that every eligible voter has access to voting in the most safe, secure, and convenient way possible — every election.

Salewa Ogunmefun is executive director of Pennsylvania Voice.