Elections director behind proposed bill
The county elections director not only agrees with most aspects of a bipartisan elections reform package that was rolled out in Harrisburg on Tuesday, but she also served on the advisory committee that helped produce it.
Shari Brewer first discussed elections reform with State Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48, in March 2017 because he is the chair of the State Government Committee. That committee oversees elections and other local government functions.
The senators this week announced their reform package at a news conference in Harrisburg. The package includes revisions on absentee ballots, loosening restrictions on poll worker requirements, simplifying ballots and allowing voting centers to replace individual municipal precincts.
Brewer said she’s most interested in establishing voting centers, which she said would continue to afford voters a polling place close to their homes, while eliminating the headache and expense of providing a polling place in tiny boroughs and townships where only a handful of people vote.
According to current state law, each municipality must have a voting precinct in each election.
This is an excerpt — pick up Friday’s Butler Eagle or subscribe to butlereagle.com to learn more what it costs to run smaller precincts and what changes Brewer is considering.
