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Isn't negotiating change to strengthen current election law in Pennsylvania more important than trying to overturn a certified and audited election now almost a year old?
Isn't working to motivate and direct voters to cast ballots in person – or by mail but only if they're eligible -- more important than trying to cast doubt on election integrity in the United Staets when actual voter fraud is and has repeatedly been negligible?
Why, then, are certain Republican party leaders in Pennsylvania trying to conduct a "forensic audit" of the November 2020 election and -- in the process -- asking counties to turn over millions of Pennsylvania voters' names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses and methods of voting?
Let's be clear: There was no widespread voter fraud last November that would overturn the results.
County election officials -- from directors to judges and inspectors of election -- did their jobs amid record voter turnout in our state.
Votes were counted. Votes were recounted.
The results were verified.
The results were challenged in courts, but no challenges were successful to change the outcome.
In Pennsylvania there were more mail-in ballots due to well-founded fears about COVID-19.
Since then, the state House and Senate in Harrisburg have forwarded election reforms (House Bill 1300) that, among other things, limit mail-in ballots.
Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed those changes, but he said he is willing to consider a voter ID mandate.
He definitely should.
People should provide ID at the precincts, just like they have to for many, many privileges in life.
Indeed, requiring voter ID – if evenly and fairly enforced – will give voters stronger confidence in elections.
Republicans should simply keep talking to the governor and Democrats to find common ground.
We echo the words of state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, in an op-ed in the Sun-Gazette: "No one likes losing, but, if we are on that side, we can be civil and respectful."
Here's what Yaw also had to say: "The Election Reform Bill (House Bill 1300), which was passed by the Legislature earlier this year, was oriented toward fixing the problems as found by the state House of Representatives and Senate committees that gathered information from voter's services offices across the state.
"This was done through several public hearings. Unfortunately, Wolf vetoed House Bill 1300, mainly because the bill had a provision mandating a voter ID. There is some indication he may be willing to reconsider some of the issues.
"Figuring out a way around his veto seems to be a course which could produce tangible results for the next election coming in just a couple of months."
We add the opinion of former Pennsylvania Republican assemblyman and congressman Jim Greenwood of New Hope: "If Sen. Jake Corman really wants to improve the integrity of our elections, he should start by removing the Commonwealth from the list of only 10 other states that put no limits on how much money political action committees and wealthy individuals can contribute to candidates for the legislature or governor. No forensic audit is needed to unveil the corrupt influence there."
The democratic process will and must continue to work.
Our take is that state Sen. Corman has authorized the "audit" to compel Wolf to compromise on HB 1300.
But there should be no compromise when it comes to voter records: Those records should never be turned over to a non-public third party.
We cannot become another Arizona. Some 18 months out and Arizona's privately-run audit only confirmed 2020 results there, and even added some votes to Biden's win.
Corman and state Sen. Cris Dush are behind the issuance of subpoenas for data and personal information on voters as part of the audit.
This is dangerous. Voting records are the people's records, not to be handed over to a private entity.
We know many good, honest and hardworking people who work the polls. 99.99 percent do a fantastic job. 99.99 percent have integrity for their work, even though they're paid very little.
Indeed, they understand the immense seriousness of their work -- that it be complete and accurate. With directors of elections at the county level, they often have to figure out -- at the last minute -- just what changes the courts and Legislature throw at them.
These people make our Democracy work.
There are so many issues -- a lack of available workers (especially in health-care) is one of them, improving the security of future elections with an evenly enforced ID requirement is another -- that require our attention and action.
We must move on, lest we seriously damage confidence in the one privilege that sustains our democracy.