Pennsylvania Becomes a Battleground over Election Security
2020-10-19
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1Throughout the United States, people are concerned about voting and ballot counting in the presidential election next month.
2But it is hard to top the levels of concern in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.
3The city of Philadelphia is home to 20 percent of all Pennsylvania voters likely to support Democratic Party candidates.
4U.S. President Donald Trump has described Philadelphia as a place "where bad things happen."
5Trump's political campaign has taken election officials in the city to court.
6They were forced to explain security measures after election equipment disappeared from a building where it was stored.
7There is an investigation into military ballots that were mistakenly thrown away in one Pennsylvania county.
8In Harrisburg, the state capital, lawmakers are fighting over the way to count the large number of mailed-in ballots.
9Pennsylvania is trying to hold the election in an environment where Republicans and Democrats believe the other side wants to "steal" the election.
10State and local election officials say they are doing all they can to make sure the voting is fair.
11They recall the counting of ballots in Florida 20 years ago, when the presidential election was decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.
12"For years, we have trusted our election officials to be...nonpartisan. Why should we suddenly not trust them?" said Eileen Olmsted.
13She is with the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan group.
14It works to increase people's involvement in government.
15Olmsted added that there is no evidence of any voter wrongdoing in the state.
16Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was born in Pennsylvania.
17He has visited it more than any other state since September 1.
18Kantar/CMAG watches the amount of money the candidates spend on political advertising.
19It says the political campaigns have spent more on television ads in Pennsylvania than any other state except Florida.
20Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes.
21Republican activists have made it clear that they will look at the legitimacy of each ballot before they will admit defeat.
22States are given electoral votes based on their population.
23A presidential candidate must win 270 electoral votes to win the election.
24Suzanne Almeida is with Common Cause Pennsylvania, another nonpartisan group.
25She says, "we are seeing the kind of incidents that are likely to happen in every election be "blown up to mean there is something...wrong with" the state's election administration.
26"There are any number of reasons why that's not true," she added.
27The biggest difficulty may be verifying and counting the large number of mail-in ballots.
28Election officials expect more than 3 million state residents will vote by mail because of fear of the coronavirus.
29Four years ago, only 300,000 people voted by mail.
30In Pennsylvania, election officials are not permitted to start counting the votes until election day.
31Attempts to change that law have been blocked by the Republican-controlled state legislature.
32So, the vote count will continue for days after the November 3rd election.
33It could delay a final result in the presidential election.
34Yet for all the accusations and investigations, many Pennsylvania residents say they have not had any problems registering and voting.
35There is hope that all will go well on election day.
36Elzena Hall changed her registration from independent to Democrat and voted last week at a small election office in Philadelphia.
37"It was...easy," said Hall.
38Susan Stirling is a university academic adviser.
39This week she decided to vote early at one of the city's election centers.
40"It went really quickly and smoothly," she said.
41But that may change. There are several legal cases before judges that will decide which ballots get counted.
42One case is about whether to count mailed-in ballots that arrive late.
43Another is about efforts to limit the number of places to drop off a marked ballot.
44These cases can cause confusion and other problems for election officials.
45"Confusion does not promote safe, accessible and secure elections," said Witold J. Walczak.
46He serves as legal director for the non-profit American Civil Liberties Union.
47Republicans and the Trump campaign say they are only trying to protect the fairness of the election.
48"His position was we have to have an election that is fair, and that every vote is counted and counted the right way," said Bernadette Comfort, Trump's state campaign chair.
49Democrats use the same argument to criticize Republicans, who, they say, are trying to "steal" the election.
50Mail-in ballots come with a "secrecy sleeve" that covers the outside of the ballot.
51Many voters throw away the sleeve, and simply put their ballot in the envelope.
52Republicans say these ballots should not be counted.
53"That's voter suppression," said State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat from Philadelphia.
54But election officials are pressing forward, hoping that election day and the weeks that follow are calm.
55I'm Dorothy Gundy.
1Throughout the United States, people are concerned about voting and ballot counting in the presidential election next month. But it is hard to top the levels of concern in the eastern state of Pennsylvania. 2The city of Philadelphia is home to 20 percent of all Pennsylvania voters likely to support Democratic Party candidates. U.S. President Donald Trump has described Philadelphia as a place "where bad things happen." Trump's political campaign has taken election officials in the city to court. They were forced to explain security measures after election equipment disappeared from a building where it was stored. 3There is an investigation into military ballots that were mistakenly thrown away in one Pennsylvania county. In Harrisburg, the state capital, lawmakers are fighting over the way to count the large number of mailed-in ballots. 4Pennsylvania is trying to hold the election in an environment where Republicans and Democrats believe the other side wants to "steal" the election. 5State and local election officials say they are doing all they can to make sure the voting is fair. They recall the counting of ballots in Florida 20 years ago, when the presidential election was decided in the U.S. Supreme Court. 6"For years, we have trusted our election officials to be...nonpartisan. Why should we suddenly not trust them?" said Eileen Olmsted. She is with the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan group. It works to increase people's involvement in government. 7Olmsted added that there is no evidence of any voter wrongdoing in the state. 8Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was born in Pennsylvania. He has visited it more than any other state since September 1. Kantar/CMAG watches the amount of money the candidates spend on political advertising. It says the political campaigns have spent more on television ads in Pennsylvania than any other state except Florida. 9Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes. Republican activists have made it clear that they will look at the legitimacy of each ballot before they will admit defeat. 10States are given electoral votes based on their population. A presidential candidate must win 270 electoral votes to win the election. 11Suzanne Almeida is with Common Cause Pennsylvania, another nonpartisan group. She says, "we are seeing the kind of incidents that are likely to happen in every election be "blown up to mean there is something...wrong with" the state's election administration. 12"There are any number of reasons why that's not true," she added. 13The biggest difficulty may be verifying and counting the large number of mail-in ballots. Election officials expect more than 3 million state residents will vote by mail because of fear of the coronavirus. Four years ago, only 300,000 people voted by mail. 14In Pennsylvania, election officials are not permitted to start counting the votes until election day. Attempts to change that law have been blocked by the Republican-controlled state legislature. So, the vote count will continue for days after the November 3rd election. It could delay a final result in the presidential election. 15Yet for all the accusations and investigations, many Pennsylvania residents say they have not had any problems registering and voting. There is hope that all will go well on election day. 16Elzena Hall changed her registration from independent to Democrat and voted last week at a small election office in Philadelphia. 17"It was...easy," said Hall. 18Susan Stirling is a university academic adviser. This week she decided to vote early at one of the city's election centers. 19"It went really quickly and smoothly," she said. 20But that may change. There are several legal cases before judges that will decide which ballots get counted. 21One case is about whether to count mailed-in ballots that arrive late. Another is about efforts to limit the number of places to drop off a marked ballot. These cases can cause confusion and other problems for election officials. 22"Confusion does not promote safe, accessible and secure elections," said Witold J. Walczak. He serves as legal director for the non-profit American Civil Liberties Union. 23Republicans and the Trump campaign say they are only trying to protect the fairness of the election. 24"His position was we have to have an election that is fair, and that every vote is counted and counted the right way," said Bernadette Comfort, Trump's state campaign chair. 25Democrats use the same argument to criticize Republicans, who, they say, are trying to "steal" the election. 26Mail-in ballots come with a "secrecy sleeve" that covers the outside of the ballot. Many voters throw away the sleeve, and simply put their ballot in the envelope. Republicans say these ballots should not be counted. 27"That's voter suppression," said State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat from Philadelphia. 28But election officials are pressing forward, hoping that election day and the weeks that follow are calm. 29I'm Dorothy Gundy. 30The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 31______________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33county - n. an electoral and administrative area within in American state 34non-partisan - adj. without preference for one political party or another 35electoral - adj. having to do with an election 36legitimacy - adj. legally correct and true in all ways 37verify - v. to check the truthfulness of something 38academic - adj. pertaining to scholarly study 39accessible - adj. able to get or to be given something 40sleeve - n. the arm of a shirt or a protective cover 41envelope - n. the paper holder used to mail a letter