Everyday Pennsylvanians Ensure Safe, Secure Elections

Pennsylvania’s elections are safe and secure, featuring tried-and-tested systems that are proven to protect the vote and ensure accuracy in the results. Still, with November 5 just two weeks away, some voters are concerned about how our elections are run. They shouldn’t be.

I’m confident in the safeguards in place, and you should be, too.

The commonwealth has implemented a range of measures to ensure that every aspect of election administration, from voter registration to logic and accuracy testing to the certification of results is both safe and secure.

One of the joys of campaigning for office and serving in an elected post is all the people you meet. That’s especially true on Election Day. That’s when you meet the true champions of democracy.

Statewide, Pennsylvania utilizes about 45,000 poll workers to staff 9,000 voting locations. These dedicated friends, neighbors and co-workers undergo rigorous training to become experts on the rules and laws of the election process.

They did it in April during the primary election – and every election before that – and they will do it again in November during the general election.

Another reason our elections work so well is because transparency is a key part of the process, and anyone can witness it by serving as a poll worker for the county or as a poll watcher for their parties or candidates of choice.

Seeing really is believing.

And there is a lot to see in how our elections are run. For most voters, though, their only experience is going to the polls to cast their ballots.

If we want voters to be confident in how Pennsylvania’s elections are run and how the votes are counted, then it’s up to us to give them a behind-the-scenes look at the many systems in place that safeguard the electoral process and protect their vote.

It starts before Election Day, with public testing of voting machines and systems. All 67 counties in the commonwealth conduct pre-election logic and accuracy testing. These stress tests ensure the integrity of ballots, scanners, ballot-marking devices, and all components of a county’s certified voting system.

It happens on Election Day, too, when those trained workers confirm voter eligibility and identity when ballots are cast. And it continues after the election has ended, when people are brought in from all political parties to observe the vote-counting process.

The reality is our elections have many built-in processes for verification and review before, during and after a vote is cast.

Ballots from election day and the mail are verified and counted, ensuring eligibility and accuracy every step of the way. Officials carefully follow these legal procedures to ensure exactly one vote per one eligible voter is counted. The final vote count is audited twice to confirm accuracy. Local election vote counts are publicized and certified in public meetings, which you can attend yourself.

These checks and balances happen in every election in Pennsylvania so we can rest assured that votes are cast fairly and counted correctly.

For those of us involved in civic engagement, we all want the same thing: We want voters to participate confidently in the electoral process.

By encouraging voters to learn more about how our elections work, we can come together on election day and trust that the results have been delivered fairly and accurately.

Mark S. Schweiker was the 44th Pennsylvania Governor and prior served as a Bucks County commissioner and member of its board of elections.