All I want for Christmas is an honest conversation in Pennsylvania on the state of our elections. I doubt Santa will be able to deliver.
The first step would be that our government officials (both elected and appointed, present and former), need to stop breathlessly proclaiming that Pennsylvania elections are “free, fair, safe, and secure.” Both Gov. Shapiro and Secretary Al Schmidt repeat that mantra over and over, ad nauseum, like clockwork, after every election.
But just saying it does not make it so. And such a broad brush manifesto sweeps the very real problems faced by Pennsylvanians out of sight. Keystone State citizens deserve a straightforward conversation and genuine efforts to fix the problems that continue to plague our election process.
Just this week, authorities in Delaware County arrested a woman named Jennifer Hill, charging her with multiple counts of forgery, tampering with public records, and knowingly registering voters who were not eligible. Ms. Hill was apparently associated with New Pennsylvania Project, a self-proclaimed voting rights organization. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollmeister states his office continues to look into the voter registrations submitted by both Ms. Hill and the larger organization.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, Kadia Kenner, the CEO of New Pennsylvania Project, stated that it does not provide “financial incentives or bonuses for voter application collection (and the) employees have no quota to meet.” That statement does not end the inquiry. In fact, it should just be the beginning.
The New Pennsylvania Project’s website states, “We’ve already collected nearly 35,000 voter registrations in our first two years. We plan to collect 60,000 more in 2024 and make an even larger impact.” So, even if individual employees did not have quotas, it is clear that the organization as a whole set lofty goals. How are those goals translated into employee productivity? While New Pennsylvania Project claims not to be working for a particular candidate or party, its board and staff list is chockablock full of prominent Democrats. Connecting the dots, it looks like this organization wanted more Democrats in Pennsylvania.
Right on cue, in an article about Ms. Hill’s arrest, the The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, “False voter registration forms are not uncommon but are generally caught by election officials and rarely lead to fraudulent votes.” Wow – if these false forms are not uncommon – does that mean these are a common occurrence? And how does the Philadelphia Inquirer know that they are “generally” caught and “rarely” lead to fraudulent votes. Maybe The Inquirer takes its cue, and its messaging, from Gov. Shapiro and Secretary Schmidt — keep repeating that our elections are “free, fair, safe, and secure” to quash any suggestion that there is room for improvement.
According to the docket, as of Dec. 19, 2024, Ms. Hill was unable to post bail so remained confined in a Delaware County Prison. I imagine when she first applied to New Pennsylvania Project, responding to its call for “passionate individuals to join our team and help defend democracy by expanding the electorate” she did not envision sitting in jail just a few days before Christmas, facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.
Perhaps someone should investigate just what these passionate individuals were told in order to meet the organization’s goal of 60,000 new Pennsylvania voters in 2024. Were they trained as to what constituted a valid voter registration? Did a supervisor review their work? What safeguards were in place to make sure only eligible voters were registered?
Back in 1980, another person with the same name as Ms. Hill, but I am sure no relation, was arrested and faced a potentially long prison sentence. That man, Henry Hill, cooperated with authorities and provided information so that law enforcement could catch the bigger fish in the criminal enterprise. His story was made into a classic movie: “Goodfellas.” Using individuals to obtain useful information about larger operations has long been an effective investigative tool.
When authorities discover these fraudulent voter registration dumps, perhaps a comprehensive inquiry is warranted. It may be more than just one bad actor or one individual who went astray. If an organization’s primary purpose is to simply add voters to the rolls, is there also an attendant responsibility to make sure that the laws are scrupulously followed? If not, there should be. Ms. Hill’s case is not an isolated incident as the issue arose in multiple counties over the course of the 2024 election.
Make no mistake, what Ms. Hill allegedly did was illegal and this behavior undermines trust in elections. It also bloats the rolls with ineligible voters, opening the door for malfeasance. However, if voter registration groups encourage, cajole, and support quantity over quality when it comes to voter registration, even if there was no specific corresponding payment or required quota, the organization as a whole may be just as culpable. Our election laws should be drafted to prevent this nonsense. If we truly want Pennsylvania’s elections to be “free, fair, safe, and secure,” investigations into voter registration violations should be exhaustive and not stop simply with the person who turned in the forms.
