Green Party of Pennsylvania
https://www.gpofpa.org/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 28, 2019
CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team, 215-843-4256 and [email protected]
PHILADELPHIA – The Steering Committee of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) has endorsed the Protect Our Vote rally on Wednesday, October 2, and the struggle to "Stop the Machine." More information may be found here, https://www.facebook.com/events/391050428235509/
Protect Our Vote believes that the voting system chosen for three Pennsylvania counties does not meet the standard for election integrity. GPPA Co-Chair Sheri Miller said, "Cumberland, Northampton and Philadelphia Counties have chosen to use the ES&S ExpressVote XL voting system. We demand that this be stopped! We must have secure voting systems with reliable audits if voters are expected to participate and to trust the results of their voting."
The Stop the Machine rally will take place at noon on October 2 on the steps of the Byrne U.S. Courthouse, 601 Market Street in Old City, Philadelphia. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President in 2012 and 2016 will be present for the rally. Stein was victorious in the 2018 federal settlement requiring election integrity in all PA counties.
Richard Garella, co-founder of Protect Our Vote Philly, said, "We believe the gold standard for election integrity is: 1) hand-marked paper ballots; 2) the best possible accessibility devices; and 3) mandatory risk-limiting audits after every election. If we don't Stop the Machine, one-sixth of PA voters will be using machines that replicate the problems which the Jill Stein v. Cortez settlement was designed to prevent.
Emily Cook, a Green Party member from Montgomery County and a plaintiff in Stein v. Cortes, said, "Cumberland, Northampton and Philadelphia Counties should make haste to acquire better voting systems, as we have done in Montgomery County."
In addition to GPPA, Protect Our Vote Philly has the support of Citizens for Better Elections, Clean Money Squad PA, Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP), Huddle Up Philly, Indivisible Philadelphia, Indivisible NW Philly, March on Harrisburg, Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia NOW, Represent Us Pennsylvania, and the Unitarian Universalist PA Legislative Advocacy Network (UUPLAN).
The Green Party of Pennsylvania is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party's four pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected]. Follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.