Knowing that it would take days for Pennsylvania to count mail-in ballots without pre-canvassing, President Trump spent weeks incorrectly asserting that the winner must be declared on Election Day, and that any subsequent election results would be the product of fraud. Pre-canvassing policies allowed around three dozen states, many of which also relied heavily on mail-in voting, to be called on election night, including other large battleground states like Ohio and Texas. Some states, including Iowa, Arizona and Florida, permitted pre-canvassing and actually began counting votes before Election Day, with the tallies remaining secret and secure until polls closed on Election Day. In 2020, Pennsylvania was one of only four states that prohibited the pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots before Election Day. To be clear, Pennsylvanians should be proud that its election was administered safely and securely by hundreds of election officials and selfless volunteers across the Commonwealth. Pre-canvassing involves preparing mail-in ballots for tabulation, such as extracting a ballot from its envelope and flattening it to make it easier to feed into the counting machines once tabulation begins. In the lead up to Election Day, Governor Wolf, the Secretary of State and a bipartisan group of county officials from across Pennsylvania called on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would have permitted election workers to “pre-canvas” mail-in ballots before Election Day. While mail-in voting increased turnout across Pennsylvania, it also created predictable and preventable concerns foreseen by Democratic and Republican officials alike. Mail-in voting enabled over 2.6 million Pennsylvanians to safely and securely cast their ballot. In the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic during the 2020 general election, this new law proved to be particularly prescient Pennsylvania’s record setting 71 percent turnout was made possible only through mail-in voting, which accounted for approximately 38 percent of votes cast. In addition to enhancing security measures, Act 77 established “no-excuse” absentee voting - better known as mail-in voting - for all voters in Pennsylvania. During that month, Governor Wolf signed into law Act 77, a historic and comprehensive election reform bill that sailed through the General Assembly with strong bipartisan support.
#77 DAYS TO SUBVERT THE ELECTION FULL#
To understand the full story in Pennsylvania, it is important to go back to October 2019. Four days was also enough time for conspiracy theorists - including our former President - to spread baseless accusations and misinformation aimed at undermining the integrity of our democracy, sowing doubt in otherwise sound election results and fostering violence, including death threats against dutiful election workers across Pennsylvania. Four days was enough time for me to post 41 videos on social media explaining the election dynamics playing out in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was called for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris four days after the polls opened on Election Day in 2020.
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