Salewa Ogunmefun: It’s time to fix Pa.’s laws to make voting easier

In Pennsylvania’s first general election held using new legislative maps that are the most fair and inclusive in the history of the commonwealth, we saw historic gains in BIPOC communities statewide having the opportunity to elect the candidates of their choosing. Now this new crop of legislators has the opportunity to further advance the interests of communities of color across Pennsylvania by expanding access to the ballot.

These incredible advances, which are a nationwide outlier during this redistricting cycle, are a direct result of the hard work that our partner organizations at Pennsylvania Voice embarked upon in a years-long campaign to increase representation statewide.

In Dauphin County, two newly created districts, HDs 104 and 105, will now be represented by Black legislators, David Madsen and Justin Fleming.

In Lancaster, an area where Pennsylvania Voice partner organization CASA was very active, a new seat was created, HD 49 that is 39% Latinx and 12% Black. Ismael Smith Wade-El, has been elected as their first Black and first LGBTQ representative.

In Berks County, HD 129, which is 39% Latinx, Johanny Cepeda-Freyitz, a Latina woman, has been elected to represent a district currently held by Mark Rozzi, who is not running in the district.

In Allegheny County, Arvind Venkat will become the first Indian-American ever to serve in the House, representing HD 30.

In HD 194, which spans Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, Tarik Khan will become the first ever Pakistani-American to serve in the House.

Advances in equitable representation in the state House stand alongside the historic election of Congresswoman Summer Lee, the first Black woman Pennsylvania will send to the U.S. House, and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor.

It is indisputable that the new maps far more accurately represent the will of the people in a state where the population growth is entirely driven by BIPOC communities, and that voters across the commonwealth were finally given an opportunity to elect candidates who align with their interests and exercise the political power that they had been denied for far too long.

The work, however, is just beginning. This new, historically diverse Legislature will be tasked with continuing the legacy of making it easier for eligible voters to cast their ballot. The right to vote is the very foundation of our democracy, and our elected leaders should be doing everything in their power to improve our voting systems. Implementing reforms such as same-day voter registration and in-person early voting using voting machines will increase access to the ballot and allow for every eligible voter to cast their ballot safely, securely and conveniently.

Still, we’ve seen attempts to circumvent newly elected Gov. Josh Shapiro and make it more difficult to vote by enshrining strict voter ID laws in the Pennsylvania Constitution, a move that flies in the face of the democratic principles that are supposed to be at the foundation of this country.

Studies have shown that strict voter ID requirements are a real impediment to ensuring that everyone’s voice counts equally. These barriers to access disproportionately impact Black and Latinx voters, significantly increase wait time for Black voters, and make it more difficult for people with low incomes to participate in the electoral process. These effects have been demonstrated to be significant enough to swing national elections, and they have a compounding effect that further depresses turnout in future elections as well.

Laws that make it harder to vote are a solution in search of a problem, as there is virtually no voter fraud in American elections. Instead of pushing for changes that will make it harder for people to vote, we challenge the General Assembly to embrace election modernization and improvements in ballot access.

The historic strides in BIPOC representation via the legislative reapportionment process were an important first step towards building a fairer, more equitable commonwealth. It is time for the General Assembly to focus on legislation that benefits every Pennsylvanian, starting with same-day voter registration and in-person early voting.

Salewa Ogunmefun is executive director of Pennsylvania Voice, a partnership of organizations working to expand power for communities of color.