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PA Could Be Sitting on Lithium Goldmine. Will Kamala Harris Shut It Down?

New research shows wastewater from fracking operations in the Marcellus Shale could hold a goldmine of a mineral critical to America’s green energy future.

A PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) found Marcellus Shale wastewater contained amounts of lithium similar to that found in brine ponds in Chile, which is one of the top producers of the mineral in the world.

Without lithium, electric cars don’t have batteries, nor do the myriad devices that are integral to U.S. society and its economy. U.S. consumption of lithium has skyrocketed over the last decade as the push to shift away from coal and natural gas and into electrification of the nation’s grid has taken hold.

The NETL study estimated there’s enough lithium that could be extracted from the Marcellus Shale wastewater to provide nearly 40 percent of the domestic demand for the mineral.

In 2010, the U.S. consumed 1,100 metric tons of lithium, according to Statista. By 2022, that was up to more than 3,000 metric tons being used to power rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and electric vehicles.

“NETL is searching for unconventional sources (non-typical sources such as a traditional mine) for lithium and other critical minerals,” lead researcher Justin Mackey told DVJournal. “This study highlights the potential from one type of lithium source, in one area of the U.S. So, this study shows that given the right extraction method, Marcellus wastewater can make significant contributions to the growing US lithium demand, and we anticipate an even broader impact when we incorporate other unconventional sources.”

In the 1990s, the U.S. was the largest producer of lithium. Today, that has shifted to Australia, Chile, and China, according to the World Economic Forum. Those three countries now account for more than 90 percent of all lithium. In 2010, one of the world’s richest lithium brine deposits was discovered in Salar de Atacama, Chile.

While the U.S. maintains strong relationships with Australia and Chile, the relationship with China is much more delicate. China also holds a near monopoly on processing rare earth minerals, an area also critical for cell phones, computer hard drives, electric vehicles and modern TVs.

The U.S. also relies on Russia for lithium, a nation that’s both an unreliable source and a national security threat.

Americans hoping U.S. mining will meet the demand may be disappointed without a change in policy, says National Mining Association president Rich Nolan. According to the NMA,  it takes an average of 29 years in America to bring a new mine online.

“To say that the U.S. is underperforming when it comes to domestic mineral production is putting it kindly,” Nolan said. “We have the proven reserves to be a global leader in producing the full range of minerals needed for our manufacturing and energy future, but our permitting and legal systems have imposed an unacceptable three decades – on average – of impediments to that potential.

“Given the urgent global mineral demand, and China’s determination to only tighten its stranglehold on mineral supply chains, we must do better.”

Lithium from fracking offers an opportunity for the U.S. to “do better,” advocates say, but there may be a new obstacle on the political horizon:

Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris, who is almost certain to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, is a vocal opponent of fracking.

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris said during a 2019 CNN town hall. She was also an initial sponsor of the Green New Deal legislation that would end fracking entirely.

Dave Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, highlighted the importance of a stable, steady stream of lithium.

“In addition to assuring a domestic supply of a much-needed mineral resource, NETL’s research further demonstrates the importance of investing in hydrocarbon resource development and utilization for economic and environmental progress,” he said. “Electric power, motor fuels, plastics and petrochemicals, hydrogen and now lithium are a few of the many benefits of domestic natural gas development and its ever-expanding role in providing for a more sustainable and secure energy future for our country.”

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Republicans say that, with or without lithium mining, a fracking ban would be a fiasco.

“A fracking ban would be disastrous for workers and families, and extreme Democrats’ mission to force Biden to step aside and replace him with San Francisco radical Kamala Harris shows exactly how out of touch they are with their voters,” Republican state Rep. Rob Mercuri, who is challenging first-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio in western Pennsylvania, told Fox News.

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick linked Harris’s anti-fracking stance to his Democratic opponent, Sen. Bob Casey, who has endorsed her.

“Their radical anti-fossil fuel agenda would be disastrous for commonwealth families, hurt the environment, and endanger our national security,” McCormick told DVJournal.

But there are still technological hurdles ahead, Mackey said.

“It’s safe to say this is still in the early stage of this type of lithium ‘mining’ and the technologies are continuously being improved and developed to meet the specific need,” Mackey said. “These methods are fairly complicated and need to be tailored to the specific chemistry of the water to be treated. As such, their effectiveness needs to be rigorously tested to make valid claims.”

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Biden Bails, DelVal Reacts: Can Kamala Carry PA?

Not since LBJ in 1968, who faced public anger over his handling of the Vietnam War, has a sitting president decided not to seek a second term.

But Sunday, with pressure growing from dozens of congressional Democrats in the wake of his disastrous June debate against former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden announced he’s dropping out of the race.

“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” the 81-year-old Biden wrote in a letter posted on X.

Congresswomen Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) praised Biden’s decision to withdraw. He “prioritized everyday Americans, guided the United States into pandemic recovery and enacted some of the most consequential legislation in a generation,” Dean wrote.

“The country, and in fact, the world, is a better place because of him,” Houlahan said.

After announcing his withdrawal, Biden endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris.

Harris, 59, thanked Biden for his “extraordinary leadership” and “decades of service to our country.”

“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” Harris said in a statement.

Harris promptly announced she would be seeking her party’s nomination, and she’s already been endorsed by one of the most frequently-mentioned potential Biden replacements: Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“The contrast in this race could not be clearer and the road to victory in November runs right through Pennsylvania – where this collective work began. I will do everything I can to help elect @KamalaHarris as the 47th President of the United States,” Shapiro posted on X.

Shapiro is widely reported to be on the short list as a potential Harris running mate.

Chester County Democratic Committee chair Charlotte Valyo is also on board.

“Now we will unite behind Vice President Kamala Harris, the candidate President Biden has endorsed and elect the first woman president. This is our focus and the goal for which we will work for the next 106 days and nights,” Valyo said.

Biden’s decision caught many Pennsylvania Democrats by surprise. Just hours before he withdrew from the race, Pennsylvania state Democratic Party chair Sharif Street signed a letter declaring his support for Biden’s reelection. And Sen. John Fetterman continued to promote another four years of a Biden presidency.

However, some Delaware Valley political observers claimed they saw Biden’s departure as inevitable.

“It was absolutely the right thing to do. I wish he had done it three weeks ago,” said Neil Oxman, Democratic strategist with The Campaign Group.

“The Biden announcement comes as no surprise. His own party abandoned him. Now they are saddled with the prospect of putting ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris at the top of their ticket,” was the take from GOP strategist Charlie Gerow.

Jeff Jubelirer, vice president with the Bellevue Communications Group, said that while Biden’s decision was “no surprise,” he hasn’t left his party much time to mount a national campaign for a new nominee.

Biden “finally saw the writing on the wall about no path to victory, especially without full support of Democratic legislators, donors and most importantly, voters in swing states.”

Can Kamala Harris carry Pennsylvania?

As of Sunday afternoon, one Delaware Valley congressional Democrat, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlan, had already endorsed her.

Veteran Democrat public relations pro Larry Ceisler says not only can she win, “I doubt Trump will even debate her.’

“Of course, she can win Pennsylvania,” Ceisler said. Democrats have won the state a majority of the time [in the recent presidential elections]. You’ve got to believe that a state that’s elected Democrats is in a very good position.”

In 2016, Trump became the first Republican to win Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Trump lost to Biden in 2020.

While local Democrats are hopeful about Harris’ candidacy, Republicans note that Trump has consistently led in the Keystone State for months and they don’t see that changing.

While Republicans are “totally united behind our candidates,” said Bucks County GOP Chair Pat Poprik, “the Democrats are in such disarray that they are going to be battling among themselves as they decide who their presidential candidate should be.

“Even though President Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, I don’t know that their party will accept her, knowing all the mistakes that she has made, how she’s been so unsuccessful as the ‘Border Czar’ and how she’s terrible at public speaking.”

“On the other hand, the Republican party, after its hugely successful convention, is totally united behind our strong candidates, President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance. I am looking forward to the great victories we will have in November with this great slate, including Dave McCormick for Senate and, in Bucks County, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick,” she said.

Local Republican operative Guy Ciarrocchi agrees.

“Kamala Harris owns the Biden record—plus, she failed at her only assigned duty: securing our border. The politics of 2024 haven’t changed one bit.”

Fetterman responded to the news of Biden’s announcement with an expression of frustration–and irony.

“People pushed out an honorable man, loving father, and a great president before an absolute sleazeball like Menendez. Congratulations.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was convicted on corruption charges last week.

 

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Shapiro May Be VP Candidate if Harris Replaces Biden on the ’24 Democratic Ticket

With Democratic politicians and now actor George Clooney, a major fundraiser, calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s name has been mentioned as a viable presidential or vice presidential candidate.

And if the octogenarian president were to bow out, Vice President Kamala Harris would be next in line. Harris is slated to speak at an Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday.

And if Harris moves to the top of the ticket, various wags have said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, 51, as her vice-presidential running mate would enhance the Democrats’ chances of winning Pennsylvania, which is now trending toward Trump.

The latest Emerson poll has Trump at 46 percent and Biden at 43 percent nationwide and shows Trump at 47 percent to 45 percent for Biden in Pennsylvania. The 538, which averages polls, has Trump at 44.3 percent and Biden at 41 percent in the Keystone State as of July 11.

Biden released a letter on Tuesday saying he will stay in the race for reelection.

“This type of baseless speculation is just a distraction – and it is unhelpful to accomplishing what we need to do this November: defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box,” said Shapiro’s spokesman Manuel Bonder.

Shapiro, who grew up in Abington, has risen steadily through Pennsylvania political offices. He started as an assistant to former Montgomery County Congressman Joe Hoeffel (D-Montgomery), then successfully ran for state representative. After that, he served as chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, then served two terms as attorney general. Shapiro was elected governor in 2022.

Republican Bruce L. Castor Jr. served as a Montgomery County commissioner with Shapiro and praises him, although they had and have policy differences.

“Josh was a tremendous county commissioner,” said Castor. “A master at the organization, excellent at arriving at a consensus and one of the best administrators I have ever seen.”

“In fact, I used to tell people, I thought he was a better commissioner than me,” said Castor. One of Shapiro’s trademarks is being “well-prepared.”

Which is why Castor believes it’s unlikely that Shapiro would suddenly agree to run for president or vice president.

“It’s unlike the man I know to do anything without carefully planning,” said Castor. “And putting an organization together and having his ducks in a row.”

Shapiro planned his run for attorney general a year in advance “so this would be inconsistent with the man I know,” said Castor.

“I think the Democrats are playing with fire trying to swap out Biden this late in the game,” said political consultant Albert Eisenberg, principal with BlueStateRed. “The downside of Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket could be lower than sticking with the guy they’ve got, however enfeebled he obviously is. A hypothetical Harris-Shapiro ticket could be a strong one in Pennsylvania, theoretically, but with so many factors in play this late in the game, and voters gobsmacked by Biden’s performance and the Democrats’ covering for him, I don’t think there’s an easy path to winning or even a guaranteed way to stop the bleeding at this point.”

Guy Ciarrocchi, a political commentator who writes for Broad +Liberty, said, “It says a lot about today’s Democrat Party. The president is old and confused—and, now abandoned. They fear the vice president isn’t able to actually be president. So, they’re left considering the most unsuccessful governor in California’s history and Pennsylvania’s freshman governor who’s yet to actually achieve any policy goal.”

While Castor believes Shapiro is unlikely to jump into the race, he added, “There is the caveat to that. When the president asks you, it is very hard to say no. And having had that happen to me, I can attest to that, directly. So that would be the only thing that I think might tip the scale, if President Biden asked him to do it, otherwise I don’t see the carefully prepared, thoughtful man that I know, doing something so spontaneous.”

“He’s a thinker and a planner and he doesn’t go off half-cocked,” said Castor, who added he’s seen very few people like Shapiro in his 40 years in public life.

 

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Biden Campaign Targets PA With $30 Million Ad Buy

President Joe Biden fired a salvo this week, releasing a new 2024 campaign ad.

Called “For You,” it’s part of a $30 million campaign targeting voters in battleground states, including Pennsylvania. The spot begins with Biden talking directly to viewers and touting his accomplishments as president. In the ad, Biden seems like a friendly father or grandfather.  He talks about what he’s done and claims former President Donald Trump lacked achievements during his term.

In the commercial, the 81-year-old Democrat highlights his age and experience as helping him get things done in Washington.

“Y’all want to talk about age? Let’s talk about age,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden-Harris campaign. “At 77, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump. At 78, he led us through the COVID crisis, put us on a path to creating nearly 15 million new jobs since the day he took office, and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law to repair our roads and bridges and expand access to broadband internet to every community.

“At 79, he got us the most significant gun safety legislation in a generation and became the first president to beat Big Pharma and cap the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors. At the same time, he made the single largest investment in history to combat climate change – all before his 80th birthday. Meanwhile, the only helpful thing Donald Trump did for the American people in four years was lose the 2020 election to Joe Biden – and it’s the one thing he won’t take credit for,” said Tyler.

“Now, Joe Biden is 81, and he’s going to beat Donald Trump again because he wakes up every single day fighting for the American people while Trump wages a campaign of revenge and retribution focused on himself. Trump may be four years younger than Joe Biden, but his ideas are old as hell, and they’ve already been rejected by the American people. Joe Biden is running to make sure we reject them for good.”

An Axis/Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance poll from Feb. 25 to 27 had Biden ahead with Pennsylvania voters by 1 point. The poll had Biden at 40 percent, Donald Trump at 39 percent, Robert Kennedy Jr. at 8 percent, Jill Stein at 2 percent, and Cornell West at 1 percent.

However, a Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll taken Feb. 12 to 18 showed Biden at 36 percent, Trump at 45 percent, Kennedy at 8 percent, West at 1 percent, and Stein at 1 percent.

“Biden could put millions more behind this ad, and he’d still be missing the mark,” said GOP consultant Charlie Gerow. “He doesn’t even address the mess he’s created at the southern border, which is on every voter’s mind. Nobody is buying that we have the strongest economy in the world while they struggle to pay for their groceries. He can’t get around the age issue because it’s about much more than age. The American people can see that he’s failing. Telling them they’re wrong won’t work.”

“The close is cute, but cute doesn’t cut it,” Gerow added.

The six-week ad run will air on national and local broadcast and cable television in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina. The ad campaign will target audiences in the key markets of Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Phoenix, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Raleigh, focusing on voters of color and young voters.

The ad will be shown on popular entertainment and sports programming on stations like ESPN, TNT, FX, Adult Swim, and Comedy Central during high-viewership moments like the NCAA March Madness Tournament. It will also run digitally across platforms – heavily emphasizing Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

“Joe Biden is burning cash gaslighting Pennsylvania voters, but they aren’t buying his lies,” said Rachel Lee, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. “Keystone State families and workers know that his failed agenda has driven up prices, threatened their safety, waged a war on American energy, and exacerbated the opioid crisis in the commonwealth. With Biden underwater in Pennsylvania, voters are enthusiastic to support President Donald J. Trump and restore American prosperity once again!”

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KERNS: Venn Diagrams for Idiots

First-grade teachers use Venn diagrams to teach students about comparing and contrasting different data sets. For example, you can draw one circle around different words to describe Batman and another around words to describe Superman. Then, overlay the circles to separate their similarities and differences.

Superman has superpowers and can fly. Batman has no superpowers and drives the Batmobile. Those characteristics would not overlap in the circles.  However, both have secret identities (Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent), wear capes, and fight evil. So, those traits overlap in an easy-to-understand visual.

Apparently, Vice President Kamala Harris believes the American people only enjoy the comprehension level of a first grader because when she is not cackling about jokes only she can understand or offering confusing word salads such as “Community banks are in the community,”  she prattles on about her love of Venn diagrams. Perhaps she should use her favorite tool to analyze whether her ideas for America are truly nonpartisan and for all communities, as she loves to claim when she blunders her way through public appearances and her approval ratings tank.

Last week, Harris led her second meeting of our country’s “Voting Rights Leaders,” which her press release described as “on the frontlines of protecting voting rights.” Harris specifically talked about “promoting voting access for all communities.” In reviewing the list of “leaders” who participated in the meeting, perhaps Harris should have had a first grader draw a Venn diagram for her to confirm that the leaders spoke for all communities, as she insisted.

The first grader would have gone back to her and said, “Vice President Harris – you have created an echo chamber of far left-leaning groups, so I can only draw one circle. If you truly want representatives of all communities, perhaps you should include organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Public Interest Legal Foundation, or the Federalist Society so you can round out the viewpoints.”

Alas, it appears Harris thinks we are all nincompoops and morons devoid of critical thinking skills because she purposely stacked her group chockablock with leftist ideologues. In that regard, she takes her cues from President Joe Biden, who shamelessly issued an Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting soon after he took office, claiming that “people of color” confront significant obstacles to voting, including “difficulties with voter registration, lack of election information, and barriers to access at polling places.”

When the far left makes these kinds of statements, they never provide concrete examples, likely because none exist. After all, in Pennsylvania, you can register to vote many different ways: online, by mail, in person at your county registration office, or at a plethora of government agencies, including the DMV. How exactly does this system exclude people of color? Spoiler alert: It does not.

What else can the government possibly do to get its citizens to register – show up at their homes? Well – as a matter of fact, that is exactly what Harris proposes – using your tax dollars. She now wants the federal government to pay college students to register as voters. Locally, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija (D), a member of the vice president’s exclusive voting group, let the cat out of the bag in a recent podcast, when he talked about mobilizing the students to go to “nursing homes” to “serve many people at once.” Who picks the nursing homes? How do we make sure we are reaching people of all political persuasions? Can anyone truly think these constitute altruistic “non-partisan efforts?”

If we must use tax dollars on students, I would rather pay them to work in their college libraries where perhaps they could put down their phones and avail themselves of books on world history. College students might learn about the work of Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda for Nazi Germany. He channeled Hitler’s own words: “…all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”

With the constant, incessant drumbeat harping that our taxpayer funds must “remove barriers to the ballot box,” the left banks on the public not realizing that what Democrats are doing is simply adding what they hope are more like-minded voters to their rolls. If their ideas will not win elections, perhaps registering more Democrats will do the trick.

When Democrats start talking about helping people in nursing homes and hospitals to register and vote, Americans should think about whether we want our government officials intruding on our most vulnerable citizens. Anyone who has sat by  a loved one’s bedside in a hospital knows the focus is on treatment and healing.  In the worst scenarios, families gather to say their goodbyes.

Similarly, nursing homes and care facilities keep their residents safe and comfortable, many of whom suffer from diminished mental capacity due to age or infirmity. If those people want to vote and are able to make that decision, they can do so without a taxpayer-funded college student, whom they have never met, intruding on them while they are at their most defenseless. After all, who wants to chat up a college student while in bed with only a hospital gown to protect your modesty? Even worse, being a taxpayer-funded agent of the Biden-Harris administration would give these students the imprimatur of some type of government authority such that our ill and elderly Americans might feel a compulsion to cooperate.

Ronald Reagan famously said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” If he were here today, I am sure he would also add: “…and I am here to register you to vote and retrieve your ballot.”

Ballot harvesting of our most defenseless citizens will likely not be easy to stop in time for this year’s elections. If you see it happening, call the authorities and report it to the administrators of the homes and hospitals. But the real solution is to get these Democrats out of office.

Many people who fail to vote say they were too busy with other responsibilities and just could not find the time. That attitude assures that we will be perpetually in the grip of the left’s lunacy. If Republicans turn out in high enough margins, we accomplish two goals: (1) Diluting leftist tomfoolery and malfeasance; and (2) Electing leadership who will pass laws to make our elections more secure. When Harris draws the Venn diagram of the 2024 elections, I hope all Republicans are in the circle representing voters who responsibly cast their vote to retire the Biden-Harris administration.

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Montco Commissioner Makhija Touts New College Student Voter Registration Program

In a recent podcast interview, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, who chairs the county Election Board, discussed participating in a voting roundtable hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris said the federal government is going to make it easier to register to vote. One change is to hire college students through the work-study program to register voters.

At a “meeting with Voting Rights Leaders to Discuss the Fight for Voting Rights and Other Fundamental Freedoms,” as the White House labeled it, Harris touted the administration’s “work to promote voter participation for students.”

“For example, under the federal work study program, we now allow students to get paid, through federal work-study, to register people and to be nonpartisan poll workers,” Harris said.

The new policy is part of President Joe Biden’s 2021 “Promoting Access to Voting” executive order. On Monday, the Department of Education issued an advisory explaining how federal tax dollars can be used to pay students to register other students to vote. The money will be drawn out of Federal Work Study (FWS) funds.

“Voting is fundamental to our democracy, and our schools and colleges play an important role in helping our students become active participants in our democratic society,”  U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Voter turnout in Pennsylvania is up because of voting by mail, said Makhija, a lawyer who taught election law at the University of Pennsylvania.

But “there are a lot of concerns about the right to vote and voter suppression,” said Makhija. A Department of Justice task force will train local election officials in security.

People who interact with the federal government human services, Social Security, and parks will be given material about how to register to vote in their state.

“The final piece that I’m really excited about is they changed the federal work study guidelines so that if you’re a student, and you’re on work study, you will be be able to get paid for working as a poll worker or working in a capacity registering voters. So this is great. Because we want young people to vote and we want young people to participate early,” said Makhija.

“We in Montgomery County are going to take extra steps with our 20 or so colleges to encourage young people and even get paid for it through work study, to participate, to serve as poll workers and to really be part of that bedrock of our Democratic process.”

Some of those students will be getting federal tax dollars to help create even more registered voters in  Democrat-dominated towns.

DVJournal asked Makhija about fears that partisan politics may be at play in the bid to pay college students to register voters. DVJournal noted the Swarthmore precinct where the students cast their ballots voted 85 percent for the Democratic presidential candidate in a state that the president carried by 1 percent.

“So, a Democratic White House is going to use taxpayer’s dollars to have college students register voters and work at the polls?” DVJournal asked.

Makhija said it will be “a whole of government process to enfranchise everyone…fighting for voting rights for everyone. We want to make sure that people in nursing homes (and) people with disabilities have a chance to vote by mail. All of these steps we can take to make sure that everyone has a chance to make their voice heard.”

Not everyone thinks paying college kids to register new voters is a good idea.

“While we support involvement in the political process, we do not support taxpayer-funded electioneering. This is another example of Democrats trying to stack the deck because they know they are playing a bad hand,” Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said.

“If Democrats, both nationally and in Pennsylvania, stopped obstructing comprehensive election reform changes, they would be encouraging more people to voluntarily participate in the election process rather than improperly expending taxpayer resources to cajole unenthusiastic participants to work for their electoral benefit,” said Cutler.

In nursing homes, residents are vulnerable to voter fraud, such as in an instance where a woman who never voted before suddenly cast a mail-in vote from her Delaware County nursing home. And while many officials like to downplay the possibility of voter fraud, especially with mail-in ballots, a recent Heartland Institute poll showed one in five people who they asked admitted taking part in some variation of mail-in voter fraud.

In Chester County, a group of citizens double-checked the voting rolls, finding a plethora of people who were registered to vote but had moved or given the address of an office building or other improbable location.

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