PA Department of State Staff to Monitor Elections

[Joy Anne]

http://www.pennlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1097745751258020.xml?pennnpol

. . . . The workers will be at county election offices, not polling places.

"You're really going to be the eyes and ears of the Department of State," Ken Rapp, a department spokesman, said during yesterday's orientation, attended by about 115 state employees who volunteered for the Election Day assignment that will be performed on state time. . . .The State Department's election monitors are part of Gov. Ed Rendell's nonpartisan effort to "ensure an error-free election," his press secretary, Kate Philips, said. . . . This Democratic administration-led effort made Republican legislative leaders wary.

"It's still just not clear exactly what purpose they are going to serve other than to be a liaison, but why then you need a lawyer and a nonlawyer in each county is unclear," said Stephen MacNett, general counsel to the Senate Republicans, who attended the orientation yesterday. "It's what I didn't hear that has me still wary about this."

Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Republican Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, added, "It's like they're trying to meddle to create issues and problems in counties. Is that their intention .... to try to assure this ends up in courts?"

Philips defended the effort as nonpartisan. She said it is part of a broader effort by the administration to ward off problems that arose in the 2000 presidential election in Florida, where thousands of ballots were discarded and President Bush won that presidency-clinching state by 257 votes. . . .
The volunteers will not be charged personal leave to participate in this effort. The time involves about five hours of training, time off to make a pre-election visit to the county where they are assigned and time to observe activities on Election Day.

[rhino47]

1. Thanks for posting this.

As I live in pa my husband (republican thats behind Kerry 100%) and I are going to sign up as a volunteer.
Anyone else that would like to volunteer call Pa Dept of State here
Secretary's Office, Deputy Secretary's Office
717-787-6458
Fax: [phone] .

[friesianrider]

2. I also called the PA Bureau of Elections...

I sent her the article, but I sort of got the impression that she thought it was up to the counties to throw out whatever they want and asked what my concern was.

Obviously, my concern is that they are both Republican officials whose only complaint about the VRFs is that Democratic-leaning groups collected them. I want to know specifically why they're throwing them out.

There's a Commissioner's meeting Tuesday morning. If anyone is close to Reading, please consider coming (PM me for more details).

[meow2u3]

3. The Secretary of State is a Democrat--thank God!

Pedro A. Cortés was nominated as Secretary of the Commonwealth by Gov. Edward G. Rendell on April 2, 2003 and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on May 13, 2003, making him the first confirmed Latino Cabinet member in Pennsylvania history.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth administers the Department of State, a 198 million dollar-a-year state agency. The Department of State protects the public’s health, safety and welfare by licensing nearly one million business, health and real estate professionals; maintaining registration and financial information for thousands of charities soliciting contributions from Pennsylvanians; overseeing Pennsylvania's electoral process; maintaining corporate filings; and sanctioning professional boxing, kick-boxing and wrestling in the Commonwealth.

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/dos/cwp/view.asp?a=1120&q=442382