by Aerion Abney
Part of our role as legislators is to help increase access to opportunities for those we are elected to represent. Act 77 of 2019 did just that.
It was a bipartisan bill that expanded access to the ballot by moving the Commonwealth on a path towards normalizing no-excuse mail-in voting. Simply put, Act 77 provides voters with the opportunity to have more options to cast a ballot.
We live in a 24/7 world, yet we have often been stuck in a 9-to-5 form of government.
Government’s role is not to force citizens to adapt their lives to government. Instead, we should figure out how to leverage government to improve their quality of life.
This includes not expecting the majority of Pennsylvania’s 8.7 million+ registered voters to cast a ballot on two specific days of the year or else risk not having their voice heard in this process called democracy.
And wouldn’t you know it? Many of the same people who voted for Act 77 have publicly discredited that same piece of legislation.
Fast forward, however, to last week when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court validated mail-in voting as safe, legal and…CONSTITUTIONAL!
The onslaught of COVID-19 changed life as we know it. One of those changes has been a tremendous uptick in mail-in/absentee ballot requests for those unwilling to risk exposure to the virus.
Being forced to choose between your health or casting a ballot is a false choice.
But let’s think from another practical perspective. More people voting by mail means fewer people waiting in long lines to vote on Election Day. That means less stress put on our volunteer poll workers to manage those long lines.
Voting by mail also gives voters an opportunity to see who or what is on their ballot and have time to do their own research on a candidate(s) or issue(s) before making a selection.
The alternative is to show up on Election Day and see names for a down-ballot race for school board or borough council for the first time, for example, and have no clue who they are or what they stand for.
In fact, many of those kinds of positions are won by just a few votes and can have a bigger impact on citizens’ everyday quality of life than the U.S. president ever will.
Any efforts to continue this race to nowhere by appealing this court decision is a terrible use of time, energy, and taxpayer dollars.
Instead, let’s talk about making a plan to vote and creating positive voting experiences.
Most of all, let’s talk about getting out and making our voices heard on Nov. 8th.
(Aerion Abney is the state representative for the 19th Legislative District in Allegheny County.)
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