districts may not contain more than 1,200 registered electors,
except for good cause shown, and requires each election district
to contain a polling place; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires that each
polling place have at least one voting compartment for every 200
registered qualified electors, or a fraction thereof, and have
no more than one machine for every 350 registered qualified
electors, or a fraction thereof, nor less than one machine for
every 600 registered qualified electors, or a fraction thereof;
and
WHEREAS, A combination of factors often leads to increased
wait times at polling places, discouraging individuals from
voting and disproportionately affecting poorer citizens with
less flexibility at work; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, Black and Latino voters waited in line for
11 minutes on average, compared to just 9 minutes on average for
white voters; and
WHEREAS, As the percentage of nonwhite voters in a precinct
increased, so did the time it took to cast a ballot; and
WHEREAS, In 2020, some voters saw major delays at polling
places, especially in majority-minority neighborhoods; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to conduct a study on the current
utilization of poll workers, polling places, voting compartments
and voting machines to determine the best course of action in
order to minimize the time investment required to vote and
ensure that the average time required to vote does not promote
inequalities based upon geography, economic status, race, gender
or other relevant factors; and be it further
20230HR0032PN0272 - 2 -
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