HARRISBURG – In light of Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar’s numerous actions to undermine public confidence in Pennsylvania’s elections, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) and Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-34) today called for her immediate resignation.
The Senators issued the following statement:
“Twice in the last two days, the Secretary of State has fundamentally altered the manner in which Pennsylvania’s election is being conducted.
“The constantly changing guidance she has delivered to counties not only directly contradicts the Election Code language she is sworn to uphold, but also conflicts her own litigation statements and decisions of both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Secretary Boockvar told the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 28 that ballots received after 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 would be segregated, but she changed the rules on Nov. 1 and directed counties to canvass those ballots as soon as possible upon receipt.
“In some counties, it is not possible to both segregate and canvass ballots as directed. This directive leaves open the possibility that timely votes will be commingled with votes received after 8 p.m. on Election Day, despite the fact that these votes remain the subject of litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Department changed the rules again on Nov. 2 when they provided last-second guidance directing counties to provide information to help voters whose mail-in or absentee ballots were incorrectly completed so those voters could vote on a provisional ballot.
“The late release of this ‘guidance’ resulted in inconsistent application across the counties – some of whom contacted voters as directed and some who did not. There is no basis for this guidance in current law. The secretary created this new process out of thin air.
“This scattershot approach to Pennsylvania’s elections is wholly inappropriate and a direct breach of the positions she is on record of supporting in litigation – a position that Justice Baer specifically said is best left to the legislative branch of Pennsylvania’s government.
“As leaders, we simply cannot stand by and allow Kathy Boockvar’s blatant disregard for the legislative process and the law to continue.
“In order for trust to be restored to the Pennsylvania election system, Kathy Boockvar must resign as Secretary of State in Pennsylvania following these most recent efforts to weaken the state’s voting system and damage the integrity and confidence in our elections.”