Auditor General DePasquale Hails Delay in Vote on Philadelphia’s Selection of New Voting Machines
Auditor General DePasquale Hails Delay in Vote on Philadelphia’s Selection of New Voting Machines
HARRISBURG (Feb. 13, 2019) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said he welcomes the postponement of today’s scheduled vote by the Philadelphia city commissioners on purchasing new voting machines, about which he sounded an alarm on Monday.
“This delay is a major victory for those of us who want to ensure Philadelphia does the right thing,” DePasquale said. “This must be a fully transparent process to ensure that every registered voter can cast a secure ballot that can be counted properly.”
DePasquale noted that Philadelphia’s planned purchase may be one of the bigger election contracts in the United States, with a cost of up to $60 million.
“I also want to commend City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart for urging the city commissioners to postpone their vote,” DePasquale added.
In November, the city issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for new voting equipment with a submission deadline of Dec. 28, 2018. The process was put on a fast track so that the city could have new equipment in place well ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
On Monday, DePasquale said it appeared Philadelphia’s voting equipment bid solicitation was written to favor one vendor and called for a closer examination of the city’s purchasing process.
In December, DePasquale announced that he would review purchasing of voting equipment by counties after it was reported that Luzerne County’s elections director accepted trips from a vendor that was selected to provide voting equipment.
In April 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of State gave counties until the end of 2019 to select new voting systems that feature a paper record, which allows for more accurate post-election audits. The new systems are to be in place by the 2020 primary election. Counties may select from among voting systems that are certified by both the federal and state governments.
DePasquale is also auditing the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors within the Department of State. He launched that review after the Department of Homeland Security said Pennsylvania was one of 21 states targeted for hacking by Russian government operatives ahead of the 2016 election.
To learn more about the Department of the Auditor General, please visit www.PaAuditor.gov.
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