Shusterman: GOP's Proposed PA Election Investigation Panel Could 'Sow Fear and Confusion'

State Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-157th Dist.

State Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-157th Dist., has come out in opposition to House Resolution 1032, which would create a committee that investigates elections.

The move was proposed by state Rep. Garth Everett, R-84th Dist. in Lycoming County, who is retiring,. The resolution would create a five-person committee weighted for the majority.

“The resolution would create a committee with the power to investigate, review and make recommendations concerning the regulation and conduct of the 2020 election. This new body would consist of five members, three from the Republican majority in the House and two from the Democratic minority," according to Shusterman, whose district includes Schuylkill and Tredyffrin townships and part of Phoenixville Borough in Chester County and Upper Providence Township in Montgomery County.

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"Everett said the panel’s purpose is to examine 'the whole chain of events' surrounding the 2020 election – including Department of State guidance, data and other records," according to a report by WITF in Harrisburg.

"The intent of the resolution is to do this post-election," Everett told The Washington Post. "And look and see what was good, what was bad, what we can do better." 

But opponents say that is not what the actual wording of the resolution would allow. It could allow the panel to interfere with determining the results of the election.

“While improving the efficiency of our elections is a noble intention, this bill is written in a way that has caused worry and concern from legislators and constituents alike. In its current form, the bill leaves too many factors open for misinterpretation and potential abuse of power," Shusterman said in a statement released last week. 

“Despite Representative Everett’s statement that the intention of the resolution is not to implement any of its regulatory powers until after the election, this is not written outright in the legislation. In fact, the committee would have the power to subpoena election officials and pull them away from polling sites on Election Day," Shusterman said in her statement. 

“Furthermore, if, as Representative Everett has stated ‘It [the committee] can’t make up rules, it can’t pass laws, it can’t do anything,’" as he told The Philadelphia Inquirer, "I begin to question whether the formation of this bureaucratic body will be effective in achieving much more than simply sowing fear and confusion amongst voters," said Shusterman.

“Given that the dissemination of misinformation regarding the 2020 Election and mail-in voting is already causing stress for the public, I find this resolution to be both ill-timed and inadequately drafted," Shuterman's statement reads. "In its current form, it simply does not do enough to insure against the potential of overreach of power that has caused so many constituents to speak out against this proposal."

Other critics have emerged, including the good government group, the Committee of Seventy, which seems particularly concerned that the panel would have subpoena power to pull election officials away from tabulating ballots in order to testify or produce documents, which could risk the integrity of the vote.

"County election officials have stated clearly for months what they need from the Legislature to support their herculean efforts to prepare for the fast-approaching Nov. 3 election: Time to pre-canvass ballots before Election Day would help counties and our Commonwealth stave off not only intense national scrutiny but dangerous mis- and dis-information that we anticipate will envelop Pennsylvania on Election Day and the days that follow," the Committee of Seventy wrote in a statement issued in opposition to the resolution.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania stopped short of outright opposing HR 1032., according to WITF's report.

“Counties need to be able to remain focused on the tasks associated with delivering a successful election,” CCAP Executive Director Lisa Schaefer said.

County and election officials themselves say they do not have the bandwidth to deal with a legislative investigation. “We have no issue with investigations and oversight; however, this needs to occur after the election. Our staff are focused and extremely busy,” said Bucks County Commissioners Chair Diane Marseglia, WITF reported.

"If the General Assembly intends to use a special vehicle to examine election issues and provide recommendations around the numerous, still-needed updates to the 1937 Election Code, the bipartisan PA Election Law Advisory Board -- created as part of Act 12, and whose members have been confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate -- should begin its work. But if our lawmakers intend to help our counties now, with less than five weeks before polls open, we again urge them to provide more time for the pre-canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots before Election Day," the Committee of Seventy argued.

Also opposed are Gov. Tom Wolf, who cannot veto a House resolution, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“If the House fails to address the questions and concerns about the scope and timeline of the select committee, then we must assume that this is just the latest attempt to sow chaos and confusion in advance of the election and threatens to further undermine the public’s confidence in the process,” said Elizabeth Randol, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in a statement. 

The resolution passed in a sharply partisan vote in the Republican-controlled House, "came after President Trump accused Philadelphia election officials of barring election observers from early-voting sites," according to The Washington Post. The Trump campaign had no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia, and election officials were following coronavirus safety protocols to limit the number of people in their offices, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

It also comes in the wake of reports of nine mail-in ballots in Luzerne County being thrown out as a result of what Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has indicated was an error due to incomplete training, not the election fraud President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted it was.

“The investigation is still going on, but from the initial reports we’ve been given, this was a bad error,” said Boockvar told The Washington Post for a Sept. 30 article. “This was not intentional fraud."

Shusterman says she is opposed the bill's timing and language not only on principle, but because of input from her constituents.

“District 157, I have received your calls and emails, and stand with you in opposition to House Resolution 1032,” Shusterman said.

“I intend to uphold the sanctity of our elections in every capacity that I have, and protect the democratic values that we hold near and dear. We should use these attempts at misinformation and dissuasion as motivation to vote, and to uphold these values. Remember, your voice is powerful, your votes counts," Shusterman wrote.