Jun. 30, 2021
HARRISBURG – Earlier today, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the Voting Rights Protection Act (
House Bill 1300) and line-item vetoed part of the General Appropriations legislation (
Senate Bill 255) to provide funding to the auditor general to perform audits of Pennsylvania’s elections. In response, Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland) issued the following statement:
“I am extremely disappointed that once again, Gov. Wolf has decided to go against the will of the people who overwhelmingly support changes to our election system. The audits would have provided a necessary means for checks and balances for our elections. The Voting Rights Protection Act would have also implemented yearly election audits, which would have further added to election security in Pennsylvania.
“A vast majority of Pennsylvanians recently polled said they are in favor of having to show an identification card when voting in person. House Bill 1300 would have mandated voter ID and to ensure accessibility, even provided an ID to any voter in need of one at no cost. Additionally, the bill would have required no voter to wait longer than 30 minutes to vote, which we have seen during the last couple of elections.
“The various measures within the Voting Rights Protection Act were a product of extensive hearings held by the House State Government Committee. Local county officials specifically asked for various changes, such as returning to the previous election timeline to allow election office staff to do their duties without being overwhelmed and allowing for counting mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day. Instead of listening to election staff who know firsthand the issues with the process, Gov. Wolf opted to ignore them.”
Representative Torren Ecker
193rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepEcker.com /
Facebook.com/RepTorrenEcker