Election reforms discussed
The director of the Butler County Bureau of Elections will testify at a state Senate hearing on election reform Tuesday.
Shari Brewer will speak before the Senate State Government Committee about insufficient numbers of poll workers.
State legislators are in the information gathering phase. There is no proposed legislation at this time.
Brewer is on a state-appointed committee comprised of county officials examining ways to cut election costs.
She said the state needs to address the shrinking number of poll workers by allowing counties to change the system.
“Let us consolidate precincts,” Brewer said. “Go to election voting centers.”
She said another option is to switch to having only mailed balloting.
Brewer said Butler County would save at least $200,000 annually if polling sites were eliminated.
Three states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — have only mailed ballots.
Brewer said there were only 129 petitions for 267 elected poll worker posts — judges of election and inspectors.
“We don't have the younger generation coming up filling those slots,” she said.
Brewer said under state regulations, a polling place cannot open on election day if there are insufficient workers.
“If we're short, we can't open a precinct,” she said. “There isn't a contingency plan for that.”
The other election bureau directors testifying before state legislators will be Ed Allison of Lawrence County, Jeff Greenburg of Mercer County and Forrest Lehman of Lycoming County.
Brewer said anything being proposed would only lower the expense to hold elections.
“We are here with resolutions to decrease the costs,” she said. “We need the laws changed to do this.”
State Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48th, who is the state government committee chairman, said in a news release that the hearing is just the onset of the process.
“My hope is this overview hearing is the first of many on election issues,” he wrote. “We'll start at a 30,000-foot view, and work our way closer and more focused as time moves on. There are too many important issues relating to elections and we want to be sure to touch upon as many as we can in this series of hearings.”
Anyone wishing to watch the hearing, which starts at 11 a.m., may view it at: www.pasen.gov/Video.
