Pillars of the Community Hosts Pennsylvania Kickoff with Al Schmidt, Jonathan Marks, Julie Wheeler, and Seth Bluestein

On September 4, Pillars of the Community held its Pennsylvania Kickoff in Harrisburg, gathering nearly 20 community leaders from across the Commonwealth. State and local election officials joined for a roundtable discussion focused on election administration safeguards and processes.

• Al Schmidt (Pennsylvania Secretary of State) explained the steps taken to prevent non-citizens from voting and how Pennsylvania balances uniformity and flexibility across the Commonwealth’s 67 counties.
• Jonathan Marks (Deputy Secretary for Elections & Commissions, Pennsylvania Department of State) discussed the potential delays caused by absentee ballot counting and introduced the department’s efforts to launch a statewide dashboard to track vote counts.
• Seth Bluestein (Philadelphia County Commissioner) highlighted how counties maintain and test election machines, discussed the challenges of running elections in Philadelphia, and shared the city’s preparations for the upcoming November election.
• Julie Wheeler (York County President Commissioner) explained voter roll maintenance processes, including residency confirmation and registration updates. She also discussed how community members can support election officials and poll workers.

Key Takeaways:
During the Q&A, community members gained clarity on:

• Voter registration requirements and the steps officials take to keep voter rolls accurate.
• The safeguards preventing non-citizens from registering to vote.
• How voting machines are regularly tested and maintained to ensure reliability.

Next Steps:
Pillars of the Community members are encouraged to organize follow-up “Ask Me Anything” town halls with election officials. Additionally, there is potential for tours of election facilities to offer a behind-the-scenes look at election operations.

This event equipped Pennsylvania’s Pillars of the Community with vital information and resources, empowering them to educate themselves and their communities about the safeguards in place around the American election system.