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We believe an effort in our state Legislature, led by state Rep. Joe D'Orsie, R-York, to empower constituents of county election officials who disregard legal practices in counting votes to recall or, in effect, fire the official is a reasonable step.
We further believe that the measure, detailed in reporting by The Center Square in Tuesday's edition of the Sun-Gazette, would best serve Pennsylvanians as part of broader efforts to address concerns with our state's election practices -- efforts that should include stronger provisions to require photo ID and, perhaps, more opportunities to vote in-person early.
We recognize that how our nation conducts elections has unfortunately become a contentious issue in its own right. We understand the need to balance preserving the right of eligible Americans to cast their ballots, free of undue burdens and obstacles, with preserving the perception of our elections as above reproach, free of fraud and dishonesty.
It pains us that dishonest claims about past elections have brought us to this point and it frustrates us to have seen the taxpayers in many communities -- including right here in Lycoming County -- forced to bear greater costs to relitigate those past elections. We editorialized about our frustrations during the demands for unnecessary "audits" or "recounts" of votes.
But, as we have also editorialized in the past, we still believe more stringent requirements for voters to show photo ID can alleviate some of the fears that elections are not on the up and up. We also still believe the requirements can waive fees or charges so a photo ID requirement doesn't have an undue impact on poorer voters, that monitoring how such a new law is enforced can ensure it is enforced fairly and that other measures can mitigate any delays or slowdowns in the practice of casting votes.
Allowing counties to accept earlier in-person voting should be examined, not only as a countermeasure to those delays but as a measure to improve Pennsylvanians' access to their right to vote.
All of these improvements, of course, are irrelevant if local officials feel they can simply ignore the rules and policies with which they disagree. Which is why allowing counties to hold "rogue" officials accountable is a necessary step -- either by itself or in conjunction with other initiatives to improve how Pennsylvania conducts elections.