Hello, I'm Janis Hobbs-Pellechio, and I lead the voting rights group. This is an issue I have been passionate about for over a decade. Here is some background:

About 12 years ago, I was a member of our Bucks County election integrity group the Coalition for Voting Integrity (CVI). The purpose of CVI was to educate the Bucks County Commissioners and the public about the pros and cons of the various voting systems prior to purchase. We determined that a voter-marked paper ballot system was the only acceptable choice, since this is the only system that allows trustworthy audits and recounts to be done.

Unfortunately, in spite of overwhelming evidence, the commissioners chose the unverifiable Danaher machines we now have. Many of us continued the fight in state court as part of a lawsuit, the gist of it alleging that Direct Record Electronic voting machines (DREs) are unconstitutional under PA law. After going through several levels of courts and appeals, the final decision went against us.

There is good news to report as well. The recent legal battle over the PHOTO ID law in our state was one victory for voting integrity, but we must remain vigilant in today's climate.

After the last election, we worked hard and expended enormous effort in the recount fight. It was another blow when the judge threw out our recount effort. But this case illuminated the glaring problems in Pennsylvania's system, in both our election laws and the non-auditable DRE voting machines.

I am hopeful that as a passionate and strategic team, we can continue to make progress; in both educating the public and recruiting more advocates who support our position of getting the paper-based voting system we deserve. If you are interested in learning more about this issue and would like to assist us, please contact me at HobbsPellechio@email.com or 267-218-3760 (cell).