HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding the recent findings by the Philadelphia City Commissioner’s office that uncovered significant voting irregularities in Philadelphia:
“These findings are beyond alarming; fraud at the ballot box is a direct violation of our constitutional principles and it’s clear that we need to move forward with significant reforms to ensure that valid votes are properly cared for. We must continue to ask tough questions to ensure that all votes, regardless of partisan affiliation, count. While the Commissioners’ findings illuminate some of the only known cases of fraud, how many more have gone undetected, and in how many more voting divisions not just in Philadelphia, but throughout the state? It’s clear we have a problem and we need to fix it.
“This conversation isn’t about disenfranchising Democrats or Republicans; it’s about protecting everyone’s fundamental right to vote, and the fact that we now know just how rampant voter fraud could potentially be, all political parties should come together to protect the sanctity of our process. Voter ID legislation takes a step forward in combating threats to our election process, and in light of these findings, I urge the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to join us in combating voter fraud by supporting critical reforms that help protect our election process.
“The Commissioners’ report should silence all those partisans and pundits who have been saying that there are no cases of voter fraud. I hope all of them would read the report and join all those in favor of fair elections. I applaud the hard work of Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt for taking the sanctity of our elections seriously and for their continued diligence in ensuring that all legal votes are counted equally and fairly.”
View the report here.
Philadelphia’s Top GOP Election Official Alleges Widespread Voter Fraud in City
CBS Philadelphia
The sole Republican among Philadelphia’s three-member city commissioners (the group that runs elections) today issued a scathing report about the May primary in the city, alleging a wide range of voting irregularities.
Republican city commissioner Al Schmidt says his probe into the May primary is not related to, nor prompted by, the furor over the state’s new voter ID law (see related stories). He says his review found seven different types of voting issues, including:
“People voting twice, voting by non-citizens who are not eligible to vote, to people voting who are not registered to vote, to people voting in parties other than their own.”
(Dunn, Mike. Philadelphia’s Top GOP Election Official Alleges Widespread Voter Fraud in City. CBS News. 7.18.2012)
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